

### VTF: Locker Files

By

Jake A Will

Copyright ©2019 by Jake A Will

All rights reserved.

Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyright property of the author.

Distributed by Smashwords

Cover design and formatting by ebooklaunch.com

Contents

Chapter 1: New School, New Club

Chapter 2: Orientation

Chapter 3: The Shift

Chapter 4: The Missing Watch

Chapter 5: First Case, First Fight

Chapter 6: Case Work

Chapter 7: His First

Chapter 8: Occupied or Something Else

Chapter 9: It's Not Just Me

Chapter 10: History repeats itself

Chapter 11

# Chapter 1

### New School, New Club

The door closed shut firmly and clicked as the lock slammed shut with the turn of a key. Ren hopped down the rusting metal staircase from the second floor and started up the sidewalk of his building. Living at the bottom of his neighborhood he had a ten-minute walk to the bus stop that sat at the only entrance to his neighborhood. The fog had seemed to just settle on the ground giving the early morning an eerie feeling as if walking through a deserted town. The only thing accompanying Ren on his way to the bus stop was the thick fog that slowly revealed building's one after another the closer he got.

Valley Green is the largest public housing complex in Bouldercrest and one of the few in the district that is zoned to attend Valdigan High School. It also has a reputation as the worst neighborhood in Valdigan High School with many of the teachers wishing it did not. The Grey buildings had cracks in the foundation, the forest green roofs were patched poorly with different material, weeds were constantly high out front of buildings and potholes seemed to out place speed bumps. Surprisingly the interior of the apartment was decent but other than that, the only thing worth a second look was the creek that split the neighborhood in half.

Stretching about half a mile from the last building in the back to the entrance of the neighborhood was a valley full of green grass and at the bottom was a stream that stretched from the forest that surrounded the back of the neighborhood. At aerial view, it was like finding gold inside a dumpster. Day or night the valley glistened in the sun or glowed under the moon while the surrounding area disappeared in its background.

He crossed the street to make his way through an alley filled with graffiti and empty liquor bottles to stop at a metal gate and sidewalk. On the other side of that gate sat the valley filled with lush green grass that dropped down before converging on a stream that flowed down through the neighborhood. The fog had hidden the stream with a smoky substance that slithered through the grass, following Ren in his route.

He frequently visited the valley as most in his neighborhood did, but instead of just for neighborhood fights and meet up's he took time when alone to come out here to sit and think. Whether it was stress or just to pass the time it became his favorite spot in the world. The stained bricks from the apartment buildings had been taken out of view with the Valley on the other side of him and his headphones blasting in his ears. Each step was in rhythm with the music without a care present as if there were no other residents.

Then there was a snap that startled Ren, ripping his headphones clear from his head and replacing them with an arm around his neck. "What's up Ren." Said a deep voice that Ren recognized immediately but was visually blinded from the shirt covering his eyes. He wrestled his way out from under the strong grip and pushed off with a smile on his face. "You ready for your first day top flight?" Said Zel.

"Of course," said Ren pushing the larger man off him and dapping him up. "What's up Zel," He said before turning to the others surrounding him, dapping them up as well.

Ronnie, Chris, Skreech, Ham, and Darien all were upperclassmen, either juniors or seniors. Though only seventeen or eighteen they could have passed for twenty-one if Ren didn't know any better. They had seemed to tower over him with facial hair like any other grown man and though it made no difference in age they all had tattoos all over their arms and some on their neck.

The same had gone for Zel who was famous in not only Valley Green but Valdigan which was not an easy feat. He was a tall lean man with a high-top fade and the design that read trailblazer in it. He had a nose like a bell pepper with lips almost as big and a section missing from his left eyebrow.

You ask anyone in Valdigan about Zel and they all had a crazy story involving him. He had already been into so much in and out of school that police knew him on a first name basis. His reputation made it surprising that he wasn't occupying someone's correctional facility right now.

Though he knew how everyone else saw Zel, Ren never saw him as a criminal. This was a guy who taught him how to fight and who would walk and pick him up from the bus stop when his mom was unable to. He even stopped him from getting jumped on several occasions; though also being the reason why sometimes he did get jumped.

The group was now drawing closer to the bus stop and could see a large group already buy the main road surrounding the stone plate that read Valley Green. Others were approaching just as they were with new hairstyles and new shoes. All wearing either white, baby blue, dark blue, or red polos with a large V on the chest with khaki pants.

"So, I guess you won't be hangin wit us in school?" Said screech with eyes that never seemed to open.

"Na, we can proly still...."

"Cut it Ren, we already know how it goes with the VTF. We will see you before and after school but rarely during. Even if we did, we wouldn't have time to chill so it don't count." Said Ham.

"Yea, but it's cool you gotta walk your own path, right? Just make sure that path don't cross mine and we good." Said Zel nudging Ren in his shoulder. Ren saw the grin and heard the laughter and added a light chuckle not knowing whether to take it as a threat or a joke.

They had finally reached the bus stop and were met with greetings from others in the neighborhood. Ren began receiving a lot of questions about his choice to join the VTF but to his surprise, many were not that upset over it.

"I mean seeing what you did in middle school I can't be surprised you would want to do this. But Garrison Middle ain't Valdigan?" said a girl with French braids and pink lipstick. "you doin way too much already and school hasn't started yet.

"He'll be good." Said an upperclassman who lived on the other side of the neighborhood. She was tall with curls in her hair and wore pink lipstick. "I mean we didn't have to come back around here just to hear what you were doing at Garrison.

The front of the neighborhood had now seemed to reach full capacity with the last few students approaching the crowd. Few had their headphones in, some were play fighting, cracking jokes and a few were now sitting on top the Valley Green neighborhood stone plate. Many were not even on the sidewalk any more but out in the street moving aside every so often to let a car or two pass by.

Two of the last students to approach the group was Benny and Travis, two brothers who lived on the other side of the valley. Ren had been good friends with Benny for a long time, they were in the same grade and shared many classes throughout elementary and middle school. Due to being affiliated with Valley Green they got in many fights and if you fought one you were fighting the other.

Though over the past two years while Ren was becoming more proactive in school, Benny seemed to become more proactive in Valley Green which could be due to his Brother. Travis was a different story with Ren; He personally had no problems with him but his relationship with Zel was a different story. Though they both were from the same place and fought together and hung out many times. They had what you would call a love-hate relationship. In the past, they have fought each other on three different occasions and the last with police being called to the scene.

"What's good Ren." Said Benny as he finished dapping up a long line of students posted on the fence on the main road. Behind him was his brother who afterward went back down to the other end toward the upperclassmen. "I can't wait to get in here, you already know Valdigan got some of the baddest girls in our district." He said taking a spot on the fence beside Ren.

"What you think cause you got a little taller now they gonna forget about your face," Ren said with a grin, he was hit with an overwhelming aroma before Benny's back even hit the fence. It was almost suffocating and if Ren wasn't around people who so often partook in this activity, he would need to find some fresh air.

Benny laughed and made a gesture to comparing heights with Ren. "Well I know females want a guy that's pushing six foot over one that's five six."

A few moments later the students began to crowd toward the entrance of the neighborhood, not caring if a car was turning in or out. Down the street, the bus could be seen approaching as traffic started to increase on the street. The fog had begun to lighten but many cars took no chance with headlight's still beaming.

The bus ride there was the same as usual with students running back and forth from different groups. Everyone on the bus was at the one bus stop due to the amount of student that came from the neighborhood. Valdigan was forced to give one bus driver the easiest schedule of his life which would soon turn out to either be a blessing or a curse. Students standing the whole time in the aisle, arms and hands stuck out the window, and students sitting on the front steps right near the bus driver. You could understand why Valley Green seemed to never keep less than six bus drivers throughout the school year.

Ren moved across the bus as well before catching himself and staying in a seat next to the window and enjoying the view. The Bus ride seemed so short as they approached the tall thick trees along the main road that failed to hide the enormous building behind it. The bus slowed down as it pulled in behind another bus in the lane created a few years ago for the school so as not to hold up traffic. Many of them sticking their heads out the window once again saying hi to friends walking or on other buses.

Peaking past the trees was a tall red electronic board that read Valdigan High School. Along the screen flashed three notices; _Welcome back returning students and welcome incoming freshman: New school year, new attitude: let's make this year more successful than the last._

Its five stories seem to tower over the approaching buses. The metal beams were silver, but the building was covered in glass. The width of it looked as if it stretched back for miles. To the right of it was the parking lot with hundreds of cars already parked and groups of students exiting them grabbing backpacks and walking towards the main entrance.

The bus entrance road leading right up to the school and into the roundabout with a large grassy field the size of a football field with a Red V spray painted in the middle of it. The entrance had eight doors with a blue overpass covering the entrance with the word Valdigan in bright White Neon letters. Hanging above the entrance was a large office that extended out from the rest of the building. Ren had already known whose room that was but couldn't believe that they had a better view than even the principle.

Ren's bus had finally reached the entrance with the bus driver immediately pulling the lever to open the door. He was hunched over in his chair with his hands over the back of his head as the students cleared the bus just as loud and boisterous as they were at the bus stop. Immediately, many students entering the school came to a holt whipping around to see where all the noise was coming from.

Ren had blended in the middle of the group heading into the school and with good reason. All eyes were on them as they entered the school from the students walking in with them to the staff conducting the flow of traffic in the hallways. Students and teachers alike had looks of irritation on their faces but only the teachers were bold enough to speak their mind on it.

Based on the appearance you would have thought you had walked into a shopping mall. The atrium-style lobby offered a view of all five levels with a glass ceiling showing a cloudy sky. The hallways on each level seemed to go back for miles as glass balconies covered each level. In the middle of the lobby was a shallow rectangular fountain pool where some students had already met up with friends and began trading schedules.

There were chairs and couches laid out across the floor with potted plants to accompany them. Right in front of everyone as they walked in was a banner hanging off the front of the first level balcony reading _Valdigan High school, where the leaders of tomorrow come to polish their craft._

The back wall of the entrance inside the atrium was covered in windows as well which allowed a glow to shine through despite the clouds. However, on the third floor, there was a lone bridge that connected the third level to the other side. A small dark blue door stood at the center of the bridge with glass surrounding it. Though, this glass was different from the bay windows that covered the rest of the building. The others were clear and square shaped, but this was a large solid rectangle that surrounded the door, twelve feet above it and at least half of the bridge.

He retrieved his phone from his pocket, opened his messages and clicked the most recent message with the name _Kimberly (VTF Leader)._

New VTF members upon entering the building tomorrow you will report straight to the VTF club room located on the third floor. Once you enter the atrium if you look behind you toward the entrance, you will see above it a dark blue door over the bridge. You can take the staircase to the left or right of you up to the third floor and take the bridge to the entrance. This is your orientation as new members and your first meeting belonging to VTF. You are expected no later than 8 am. Thank you, Kimberly Host.

"Valley Green! Quiet in the halls, it's the first day of school and I'm not up for any of the B.S today!" Shouted Mr. Ferguson at the top of his lungs. For a moment many of them stopped yelling just to find who it was who had the audacity the make such a bold statement. However, once they saw it was just a middle-aged man with a greying goatee, receding hairline and a suit that seemed a few sizes too big they laughed it off and continued to move through the lobby and split off to go their respective ways.

Ren casually slipped away from the large group of students heading down the hallways and went up the side staircase in the left corner of the lobby up to the third floor. He brushed elbows with multiple students on his way up the staircase. It might have been due to the number of students entering at one time, but the steps seemed narrow for a school of its size. There was a tingling sensation that caused a weird feeling in his neck and shoulders now. He kept his eyes on the top of the steps but felt that others around him were focused on something very specific. It wasn't as if they knew him already, he was a first year, a freshman nothing special in the largest school in the nation.

There were so many students standing outside of their classrooms chatting as he stopped on the landing to the third floor as he peered down the hallway in front of the steps. Dark blue lockers covered the walls of the hallway as far down as he could see with an open door every so often stopping the streak. Down the hall to the right that had a view of the atrium, showed blue lockers and groups of students as well with some leaning over the railing while watching the many students still coming in.

"That's him right there." Said a voice failing to whisper on the hallway in front of him. He turned to catch a redhead short girl walking with a few of her friends turning onto the next hallway. None of them seemed to want to hide the idea that Ren was the topic of their conversation due to the staring that lasted only until he made eye contact.

It was apparent that people knew of him already now because after noticing her staring at him it became apparent that more people began to pay attention to him. He turned left and made his way onto the black bridge with glass railing like the rest of the rails surrounding the atrium. The school seemed much larger from up here. The fountain seemed longer, the floor seemed more spacious and the atrium and its rails seemed to stretch farther than before. All of it expanded and seeming to close in on this one door of the school.

The closer he got to the door the more it felt as if a hand was reaching into his stomach and squeezing his insides into a balled-up fist. He pressed on his stomach to force the pain away, but it remained as he drew closer to the door. He took a deep breath and removed a sleek black card that had the words VTF imprinted on it but wasn't sure whether to insert it or place it on the pad to be scanned. He chose to try the slot below the pad first. The red dot turned green and he heard a small click and pulled down on the lever.

# Chapter 2

### Orientation

The dark blue carpet hugged his sneakers as he stepped through the threshold. Ren scanned the room from left to right trying to take in everything that filled it. The rays from outside added a glow to a dimly lit room as only a few lights in the middle of the room were on. The carpet took up most of the room except a small section on the left side of the room that had hardwood floor covered with desks with a whiteboard and flat screen television at the front.

The seven-foot oak wood cubbies wrapped around the right side of the room with the new freshman cubbies closest to the door going around to the highest senior member. Florescent lights gleamed from the nametags that sat on the top of every cubby. The main compartment was so spacious there was even a padded cushion for you to sit inside it.

In the middle of the blue club room sat two large flat screen televisions sitting back to back with two large crescent couches surrounding them. Behind the couch sat a pool table with the letters VTF imprinted on the carpet. There was a microwave, there were vending machines, there was even a refrigerator. Seeing all of this for the first time for it to be a part of the clubroom washed away the tightness in his stomach. The room was sucking him further in, but his mind was to focus elsewhere to notice.

"Ren" whispered a voice from somewhere beyond him.

He turned and saw Eden sitting in one of the chairs close to the front of the class along with Gwen, Lily, Amy, and Lucas. Her fiery red hair that was usually left out to wildly hang was pulled back into a ponytail that flowed down her back. Even with her pale complexion, her emerald green eyes still shined bright like two high beams. She still had a tomboyish look to her appearance, but he had never seen her look so mature before. Maybe it was the school uniform, being in high school, or the first official day of being a VTF member but this look was far different from past ones.

Gwen had been sitting directly in front of Eden and always seemed to carry a mature demeanor about her. Though they had just met two months ago, Ren and Gwen already knew plenty about each other due to their accomplishments in middle school. From then on, they have seemed to become rivals without even acknowledging it. Being first or second in many of the trials they have competed in over the summer.

Her head had turned as Eden spoke while her body remained up straight with her legs cross and her arms lay across the desk. Unlike Eden her hair was not in a ponytail, it flowed down her back and over her shoulders covering most of her shirt. Her cheekbones were highly defined with hazel eyes and thick lips.

Lily was seated next to Gwen with jet black hair that was in the style of a bob that came to shoulder length. She was sitting almost exactly like Gwen except with her hands in her lap while turned facing both Gwen and Eden. Right behind her was Lucas who seemed very occupied with what was going on in his phone. His blonde hair was cut short around the sides with the top being styled back. Then on the other side of him was Amy whose black hair was covered by her oversized hoodie. She sat slouched in her chair eating a bag of potato chips with one earphone in.

"What's up. "said Ren as he dropped his bookbag beside the desk and took a seat behind Eden.

Hey's and good morning's followed in response. Ren continued to look around the room in amazement at what the VTF had for their leisure activities. It was better than the football locker room which had recently been remodeled a few years back. However, while looking out across the room a glowing light had caught his eye and now seemed to cover the whole room. He saw that the back wall from which he had just entered was nothing but glass staring right out across the atrium at the levels of students walking the halls.

"It's amazing isn't it?" said a wide-eyed Eden enjoying the same view. "I knew the privileges were enormous, but this is unbelievable."

"Well, we are the security of this school, it's only right that we should receive special treatment for it." Said Gwen as she shifted her seat around toward Eden.

The door opened once again and entered a tall, skinny, dark male who shined as much as the glass behind him. His high-top fade added another three inches to his already six-foot frame with the words Sauce cut into the side of it. It was hard to tell what sparkled more, his custom basketball championship jacket or the chains, rings, and watch that he was sporting with it.

"Oh, my goodness! Ima have too much fun in here." Said Reggie as he strutted his way over to the desk. His eyes seem to be everywhere else except where he was walking. He plopped down into a seat next to Lily and dropped his bag before greeting everyone. "What's up everyone, first day and I'm already lovin this school."

"Good morning Reggie. "Said Gwen.

"Good morning Reggie. "Said Lily.

"Hey," Said Amy.

"Morning" Said Eden

"Hey," Said Lucas

"What's up "Said Ren.

Reggie's eyes made their way over to where Ren was sitting and rested on him for a quick moment. Looked up and down and quickly looked away with an irksome look on his face. No one seemed to notice but Ren who paid it no mind while everyone else continued their conversation.

"Gwen is right though," Said Lily. "It's right that we should receive special treatment especially for the drawbacks of being in this club. Over the years they have had many members drop out of the program for multiple reasons. Overload in work, threats from other students and even being assaulted by them as well. I just hope that all of us that have made it this far stay together through the next four years."

"I don't see any of us resigning from the club." Said Lucas. "You all seem plenty capable.... whoever it was that did resign had no business being here in the first place."

The door opened once again and this time there were two people entering. They were just finishing a conversation but looked as if the two wouldn't be caught dead talking to one another in public. His uniform was finely pressed and fit just right, the dress shoes had a gloss to it that came after being waxed so many times. His lips were pressed tightly together as his eyes thoroughly inspected the floor. However, with his back straight, chest out, and hands gripping the straps of his backpack that was pressed tightly against his back he pushed forward to the desks as quickly as possible.

The top of her hair was knotted in a ball while the rest laid restlessly around her like a mane. She had a bright red tattoo on the top of her left hand and another on her right bicep. Her bright blue eyes were the only thing comforting about her but once she opened her mouth even that took a back seat.

"Good morning everyone," Kenny said calmly as he breathed deeply while taking a seat.

In the middle of greeting him, many were interrupted by Jessie who couldn't seem to hold her composer as well. "OMG!" She said walking around the room checking out the cubbies then plopping down on one of the couches. "I could stay here all day if I had to."

"Jessie this is our first day as members of this club and we have yet to be properly welcomed in. For that could you please act mature and take a seat with the rest of us over here." Said Gwen with piercing eyes that seem to cut across the room and meet Jessie's glare head on. Everyone was silent for a moment looking back and forth between the two waiting to see who would respond first. It seemed the tension was not as intense as they thought when Jessie got up slowly with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, got it, Gwen, as you say, Ms. Princess."

"S...So what do think this orientation consists of?" Kenny asked quickly.

"I figure she will just tell us about what all we will be doing and what is expected of us." Said Gwen.

"Oh, so no cases?" Said Jessie in a condescending tone.

"No." Gwen snapped back. "It's the first day, even if there were any it would go to the upperclassmen.

"But eventually we will have some." Said Eden. "Valdigan is a good school but there are a lot of incidents as well. I'm not surprised by the enrollment at this school."

The lock had clicked once again as silence fell across the room. In came Ryan with a Garrison Middle School Football team duffle bag hanging across his large chest and broad shoulder. He was finishing up a whey protein bar as he walked in and quickly glanced around the classroom. "Good morning everyone looks like I'm the last one out of the group." As everyone said good morning, he took a seat right behind Ren as he dapped up both him and Eden.

Small group discussions continued in the classroom part of the club room between the freshman. Some were talking about their club activities in middle school, a few were talking about the school, but many still could not stop gazing around the room at what they now had access to with being a member of the VTF. But in the middle of taking in the sights, Eden happened to catch sight of two students approaching the door through the windows.

"Here they come." Said Eden as the rest of the room looked towards the door already expecting who to see. A taller woman leading the way with an even taller man following behind. They were moving so quickly the freshman had barely any time to turn forward.

The lock clicked once more and the two made their way toward the whiteboard without so much as a greeting. Her heels were loud as they crossed from the carpet to wood floor, her hair seemed to bounce with every strut she took. The brute she was with seemed to be too strong for his own good. His neck looked like a thigh and his arms resembled tree logs. He stood in the corner of the room with an aloof look that made those staring turn in the other direction. Kenny never even bothered to look his way at all.

Greg Mann was already one of the most feared men at this school due to his appearance, but his track record made him even more feared. He had beaten many people in the hallways of this school, sometimes four or five at once. The story about him putting a kid in the hospital by shoving him through a locker had even circulated around the middle schools. He was the starting defensive end on the football team who Ren and Ryan knew personally now from their meeting with the coach but from the expression on his face, they dared not to say hi.

Though there was a dominating figure that made everyone look away there was another dominating figure that no one could take their eyes off. She seemed to have a glowing aura around her enhancing her beauty even more. Blue eyes, high cheekbones, long golden locks, and legs that seemed to never end. She looked out at the seated freshman and gave them the warmest smile any of them could ask for when finally meeting the leaders of the club.

"Good morning to you all and welcome to the Valdigan Task Force!" She said loud and clear as she lifted her arms from each side. "My name is Kimberly Host and I am the current leader of the VTF and this man to my left is Greg Mann, second in charge of the club." Introductions were of no need for these two, everyone in the state knew about them. Both had athletic scholarships to many schools in the country and solved numerous cases that made the local papers.

"Being here means that you passed the physical tests, mental tests, and exercises to join the VTF and are now full-fledged members. As members of this club, a lot will be expected from you, more than what is of any other club you will be a part of. However, the sacrifices you will make will pay off in tenfold as you can see from the present and will see in the future."

"There isn't much to this orientation except for the explanation of three topics." Said Kimberly emphasizing the three as she held up three fingers. "Duties as a member, benefits of being a member, and Future outlook on this organization. After I am done, I will open the floor to any questions or concerns you maybe have." Her voice was both pleasant and strong, the freshman had all relaxed from when the two had first entered the room but did not dare speak or even cough before she gave them the choice too.

"As you know we are the largest high school in the country and have been for some time now. With that, we have some of the best facilities in the nation and are provided with some of the best support and opportunities as well. We have graduated many individuals that have done wonderful things in and outside of these walls. That also goes with saying that we have had many individuals, some that did not graduate that have done horrible things in and outside of these walls and that is where we step in.

As the Valdigan Task Force, we maintain peace and security between the population that attends Valdigan High school. Anything from breaking up fights to finding stolen items and catching suspects is our job. We always have a high amount of cases every year and never have enough members for all the cases so there may be times where you have more than one case. Anything suspicious that you see you must act upon to stop any future attempts from happening.

Your daily routine will consist of your regular school routine including working on cases at any time throughout the day and resolving any conflicts that may happen on your watch. Here at Valdigan, we do have security, but they mainly patrol the hallways and food court, but we are the extra hand that is sometimes needed when they are not around."

"Now" Her voice had dropped an octave suddenly. Her stern and demanding voice had somehow amplified even more with a now villainous tone. "Let me make this very clear, this club is not a game and it is not for fun. At times you may be dealing with pranksters, class clowns, and wannabe thugs who start stuff for attention. However, at times you will also be dealing with drug dealers, weapons, and thugs who could care less about your lives or anyone else's. Just because it's inside the school does not mean it stays inside the school and sometimes your case will take you into the real world just to solve it." Her newly polished fingernails spread across the first desk she was standing in front of as she leaned over it staring down every one of them. Even the ever so confident Gwen seem to curl up in her seat.

"With this job comes not only sacrifices but dangers that you will be exposed to. Threats, assaults, and vandalism are just naming a few so if that is too much for you to handle leave now. We do not have time to babysit you, this is what we do and what you signed up for so be ready is that clear?" No one said anything, every face in the crowd of freshman did not budge one bit.

"Ok." She said raising upward again. The ominous tone was gone now as students slowly exhaled. "With that said I want you to understand that it's not all bleak. We are held in high regard not only in the school and the state but in the country as well. With it comes perks that most high school students only dream of."

"One example of that is our clubroom." She said gesturing to the entire room as eyes followed along to what had been the main topic from the moment they stepped foot through the door. "We are sponsored by numerous organizations and with it are provided comfort that most clubs only dream of. As you saw when you entered today only those with a card or fingerprint access can enter. The only other person with access is the principal who also uses a card, but you will be fingerprinted today so I can collect your cards.

Working on your cases as I said earlier can be at any time of the day or all day if you so choose. VTF members have an unlimited amount of absences and class excuses due to the nature of the job that you have. This does not mean that classwork is also excused, you will still have to find time to finish work if you choose to miss class. We are seen as being above your average student and must behave as one. You could choose to miss a whole week of class if justified but all classwork from that week must be done."

Many of them could be seen grinning, exchanging looks from one another at what they were just told. After their quick glances, it was back to Kimberly who did not pause in her speech for their reactions. She was now beginning to pace back and forth across the room with her hands locked behind her back and without a glance in their direction.

"We receive a monthly allowance that we can use freely for anything the club may need. For example, a few years ago, we needed a van for our students to get home after school and purchased that with the allowance. Also, if you need certain equipment for a case the allowance is what will be used to purchase it.

Then there is after high school which most students worry about when It is too late. With the VTF many schools will offer you a scholarship just because of the organization you are a part of. Many schools know what we are about and if they do not, they do a little research and will be fighting to get you there. With that said, there has not been a member of the VTF who has not received a scholarship to the school of their choosing."

"And last I would like to discuss with you the outlook of this school year and the future including the VTF," Kimberly said facing the freshman once more. "We estimate that there will be a spike in the number of cases we receive during the school year due to an increase in population. Last year we lost three members due to attacks and it will only increase with this school year which is why we are fortunate to bring in such a large incoming class.

This incoming VTF freshman class represents all four towns that are zoned to attend Valdigan High School. Bouldercrest, Surrey, Culliver, and Raven town. This year a few hundred students from Dunmar will be coming here and more will follow the following year as Dunmar High School is set to close..."

The door opened again and in came a group of students with their uniforms and backpacks. Very quietly they came in setting off in each direction toward their cubbies. They paid no mind to the leader or the freshman sitting off to the side. Though they wore the same uniforms as everyone else in the school, they seemed completely different from the rest of the population.

"Most of the time a freshman has plenty of time to develop and learn the system and process of dealing with cases while also being a student. But I'm afraid you will not have that luxury; There will be more cases than last year, and we will be needing all members ready at any moment. With the enrollment increasing again next year with the official closing of Dunmar High School this will likely be the toughest years that Valdigan will see. However, you are all here for a reason, you excelled in all activities in middle school and it should be no different here. If we did not trust you, we would not have picked you. So once again welcome and do your best, we expect great things from you." She said adding a smile that showed her stainless white teeth.

"Now next you will be partnered with an upperclassman that will mentor you in your freshman year. You will raise your hand when I call you but will wait after everyone has been given a partner to go meet your senior member." Ren felt a weight leave his body but the turning in his stomach had seemed to stay. Eden was staring through Ren over at the cubbies observing the veterans as they got ready for class.

"Kenny Ferguson," said Kimberly. Kenny stiffened in his seat with his hand shooting straight up as if he had been poked with a needle. "You will be Partnered with Monica Wright." Everyone looked over to the cubbies to see who she was. A dark-skinned girl with large brown eyes and a buzzcut stood up from her cubby who seemed to have more legs than anything else.

"Nice to meet you, Kenny." She said with a beautiful smile before sitting back down.

"Nice to meet you too." Said Kenny in the coolest voice he could muster before his face became red.

"Amy Wong, you will be with Timothy Hitchens." She said as a tall figure with a long face and nose stood to his feet and bowed his head towards her. The glare on his glasses hid his eyes as his long uncombed hair hide the rest of his face. With Amy's hand already raised she simply waved and put down her hand.

"Lily Taper, you will be with Angela Rice."

Before the name could be said Lily was already scanning the room for movement. A girl that didn't look much older than she stood up with short hair and thick eyebrows. Her skin was like caramel, but her hair was straighter than many would imagine. "Nice to meet you." She said with a smile before sitting back down.

"Likewise." Said lily with a smile accompanied by a bow.

"Lucas Price, your partner will be Marcus Helm." She said as a slender fashionable young man stood up with a stern look on his face. He wore designer glasses with a neat hair cut that resembled his new pupil.

"Nice to meet you," Said Marcus.

"The same" Said Lucas.

"Jessie Monroe, your partner is Henry Day." Jessie looked over but saw no one even attempting to stand. The rest of the room had now started looking around as if he was hiding somewhere else. Soon one of the upperclassmen had risen from their cubby but it was Marcus who had just stood up a few seconds ago. He walked over to the couches in the middle of the room and pulled an earplug from out the ear of a rough looking guy spread out along the couch.

"Ms. Kimberly just called you," Marcus said in a repressed tone.

"OH! Sorry, Kim." He stood and looked directly at Jessie as though he had been told prior that this would be his partner. The side of his hair was cut low with a black man bun that sat on top. He had a tattoo on one side of his neck and plenty more accompanying them. "So, you my junior huh, I guess she'll do." He said before dropping back to the couch. Jessie squinted her eyes at him before rolling them back onto Kimberly.

Kimberly exhaled before continuing. "Next is Ryan Hallinger, your partner will be Danny Fog." A large, very muscular man stood up from the back wall. His broad shoulder and chiseled face could be seen even from that distance. His large brown eyes and smaller frame made him easier to look at than Gregg, but he was by no means small as his muscles could also barely stay in his shirt.

"It's a pleasure, can't wait to work with you." He said before returning to his cubby.

"Yea, the same, and thank you." Said Ryan.

"Eden fox." Kimberly was barely through her name before Eden's hand was in the air and staring off into the cubbies. "Your partner will be Larry Collins."

A Slim young man with a preppy look stood up with his hands deep in his pants pockets. His jet-black hair hung over one of his eyes with the other one staring right back at Eden. "How's it going, can't wait to work together." He said very smoothly before turning back around and grabbing his headphones.

"Nice to meet you and me too." She said with a face that seemed to illuminate as she spoke.

"Now... Reggie Lane, your partner will be Greg Mann here." She said turning toward the corner behind her. Everyone seemed to mutter something without even thinking about where they were. To think one of them would actually have to be partners with that monster seemed frightening.

"What's good Reggie." The Deep voice vibrated across the room as he gave him a nod. "Just because we know each other doesn't mean you got it sweet, so be ready." Said Gregg. Everyone's head that was in a seat except Ren had snapped in the direction toward Reggie with mouths open.

"I know Greg, don't worry I got you." Said Reggie.

"Ren Thompson."

Ren raised his hand slowly while looking directly at Kimberly. Her pace had seemed to slow down as Ren awaited her decision. Who would be his mentor in his first year at the largest school in the country?

"Your partner will be Cody Blaine." As the words escaped her mouth many of the freshmen repeated the name back while searching the room. Ren also began to search the cubbies for anyone making sudden moves. There were no moves, but snickering could be heard from the upperclassmen which couldn't have been a good sign. Kimberly sighed with an unruly face while Greg tried his best to hide a grin in the corner behind her. "Well Ren, you will meet your partner later due to tardiness."

"Last is Gwen Pierce." Said Kimberly whose eyes were fixed upon the young woman in front of her. "Your partner will be none other than me." The room seemed to become quieter than it had already been. Everyone was staring at Gwen whether it was her face or the back of her head, even Ren this time could not believe what he just heard. "So be ready."

"Y...Yes, of course." Said Gwen. "Thank you for the opportunity." Ren could not take his eyes off her from the news he had just heard. Does it mean that she is the best member in this incoming class, was everyone in here just ranked from last to first? If It did this meant that his performance in the summer wasn't as good as he thought.

"Now with the conclusion of orientation, you will now choose a cubby of your own. There are plenty of cubbies available and anyone open is up for grabs so choose wisely and that will be yours for the rest of the year." Said Kimberly as she walked around the edge of the desks and place herself in between the freshman and the classroom. "You are dismissed."

Chairs screeched and tables shuffled as each of them collected their belongings and made their way across the room. Ren could already hear lily congratulating Gwen while making their way through the desks. Just as he looked up, he caught Gwen's eyes for a split second just as she was turning away to continue walking.

"Come on Ren, I want to get our cubbies before everyone gets over there." Said Eden pushing him along as he was hoisting his bag on his shoulder. Again, the door opened and in stepped a tall handsome male with green eyes. He stood about the same height as Greg but much thinner, with big wavy hair, dimples and a smile that belonged in someone's magazine.

"Hey! Sorry, I'm late." He said casually as the door shut.

"There's no excuse!" Said Kimberly. Many freshmen tensed as she raised her voice, but the older members were smirking at the two. Within seconds she was in his chest looking up at him as he put on a warm smile, trying to calm her down. "That face may work on these simple girls that walk around this school after you but keep it away from me. You were told to be here on time for the freshman orientation."

"I'm sorry, truly I am something came up at the last minute and my coach needed to see me." He said. "I promise it won't happen again, this time I really mean it.

Kimberly sighed as every bit of power seemed to inflate out of her and looked over to the cubbies at Ren who was watching them carefully as most of the freshman were. "Ren, this is your partner, Cody Blaine." She said unenthusiastically.

Cody nodded and made his way over to his locker to get ready for class. The cubbies on the back wall near the vending machine and kitchen area were all taken by upperclassmen. There were plenty of cubbies near the door turned the opposite way of the atrium which is where all the freshmen headed. Ren could not stop staring at Cody and the others, most of them were local celebrities. Appearing in online articles or local news reports about achievements in sports, the classroom, or community. However, he wasn't the only one who seemed starstruck. Eden couldn't stop talking about Larry and Cody who Ren suspected her of having a crush on. Lily kept getting caught staring then suddenly looking away and Kenny seemed to hesitate with every move he made.

After a few minutes of chatting, gameplay, and snacking the bell rung throughout the building and all members began grabbing their materials for the first period. Ren and Eden were getting ready to head out when they were approached by Larry and Cody respectively. "You ready?" said Cody.

"Uh... Yeah," said Ren looking at Eden who looked at him with wide eyes before looking back at Cody.

"What's up new partner, so I'm walking you to class so I can hip you to a few things. Don't worry your girl has Larry here to take care of her, she'll be fine." Said Cody pointing at a grinning Larry whose hands were still bound to his pockets.

# Chapter 3

### The Shift

The hallways were now empty and every room they passed was filled from front to back. Voices were heard going in and out as Ren and Cody passed by each classroom and approached the next. "The first thing I want you to understand is that trouble can happen even if you not working your case. Being aware of your surroundings is key and in a school this big, that can be a problem." Said Cody leisurely as they passed another classroom. They turned and went up a flight of steps to the next level continuing down the hall.

"So, are there specific things I should be doing when in the halls? Asked Ren

"Uhm... not really, mostly you're just viewing your surroundings and watching for anything suspicious." Said Cody as he waved into one of the classes. "To prepare, I just want you to practice watching students move throughout the hallways during transitions at the end of first period. It will help you get comfortable scanning for suspicious behavior during high traffic volume."

Ren's eyebrows curled as he looked up at Cody. At Garrison middle, he never thought about scanning the halls and students for small clues or suspicious activity for what may soon happen. He got a complaint and took care of it, simple as that. But searching through hundreds or thousands of students within a few minutes seemed mind-boggling. Even more so was the leisure pace and carefree tone Cody had taken. Ren held the straps on his book bag tight as he turned his focus on the tiles he hit with each step.

"It may seem like a lot but trust me, you'll be fine. I've heard of your work in middle school and you've had more on your plate than what you have this year." Cody said as he nodded to someone in the passing classroom. "You're not even playing sports right now and that's one of the main reasons we can't until junior year. Just do what you've done so far that got you here and you will be just fine."

"Cool... thanks." Said Ren as they came to a stop.

"This is your class I believe, so we will meet up in the club room five minutes before the end of second period to get ready to patrol...cool." Said Cody.

"Cool."

Ren had not taken two steps inside the classroom before all eyes had turned on him. His eyes remained on the teacher as he approached her desk. Her floral pattern dress draped her tall frame like window curtains. The lines on her forehead danced as she fixed her face at the boy who entered the classroom. "Ah, Ren Thompson! I was expecting you, no surprise you're late. Please take a seat." Said Mrs. Rogers.

First period flew by with his late arrival. He was one of the first out of the door into the busy hallway. At least out here, there were too many people moving about the hall for everyone to be staring at him. Upperclassmen towered over him closing him into his own world where viewing the rest of the hallway was impossible. Lockers popping open then slammed shut, bookbags hitting the ground, yelling down the hall, Running through the hall. Everything was almost a blur and had Ren in a daze for a moment until snapping out of it.

Focus on the students, look for clues and suspicious activity he said to himself. He took a deep breath and scanned the hallway once more as he slowly shuffled down it. A short round kid with a large bookbag hurried down the hall with his bag swaying from side to side. He wore a worried look upon his face while glancing at everyone as his bookbag nearly sideswiped Ren.

Three girls in skirts walking down the middle of the hallway laughing with notebooks in their hands. Two guys staring back intensely at the three girls who just passed by. Neither had any school material in their possession while wearing unbuttoned and untucked shirts. A guy with glasses and a streak of blue hair was bouncing down the hall with a book in his hand then was quickly blocked out by a passing crowd. A tall slender girl with long black hair and high heels came clicking down the hall walking toward... his vision was obscured by a passing crowd.

It was all he could muster in his first attempt. In a sea of white with patches of blue and red that danced wildly across his retina. He continued to pursue any piece of material that looked interesting but saw nothing worth a second look as his eyes whipped back and forth down the hall. Suddenly, an electronic bell sounded and rang out over the intercom. Students began to disperse immediately as Ren stood there stuck realizing he didn't know where his next class was.

By the time he arrived at his next class, laptops were already out, and the teacher was finishing up explaining the percentage weight of all class assignments. Once again, he walked in with all eyes on him and once again expecting to be scolded, he received a warm welcome by first name. Even when It was close to the end of the period when Ren raised his hand to be excused Mr. Phil told him that in the future he could just leave.

The club room was more occupied than Ren had expected when he made it back. Some were sitting down eating their food in their cubby or on the couch in front of the television. A game of pool was being played that seemed to be delayed by their conversation, and the other television seemed unusually loud with Henry playing video games. Lucas and Kenny were among the group sitting in front of the other television while eating their lunch.

"What's up freshman!" said Henry hunched over the controller with his eyes glued to the tv. "I would take a seat and relax; Cody won't be here no time soon."

"He'll be here any minute." Said Larry before hitting one of the stripped pool balls into a corner pocket. "Watch."

"How much you wanna bet?"

"twenty."

"Bet."

Ren had started making his way toward his cubby when Cody came strolling through the door and made his way straight to the refrigerator. At that moment a gunshot was heard clear as day on the tv that Henry was occupying as his remote vibrated violently. He dropped it and made his way over to the pool table and dispassionately handed Larry a twenty-dollar bill as the electronic bell rang.

"The lunch schedule for the school is pretty simple." Said Cody as they made their way over the bridge. "first level first lunch, second level second lunch, third level third lunch, the fourth and fifth level fourth lunch. The last lunch is packed but, the food court is spacious so there are always seats."

"So where will we be going to patrol at?" asked Ren following Cody down the staircase.

"Well, the cafeteria is placed where it is for a good reason." Said Cody. "All hallways converge on the food court which gives us an advantage of meeting the traffic head-on. It's the first day so we will stand in the middle of a hallway where the classroom hallways and the food court meet and watch." Said Cody.

"Is there something specific I should be looking for?" Said Ren, whose attempt in the hallway after first period was still fresh in his head.

"Actually...there is." Said Cody stopping mid-stride, causing Ren to stop abruptly. His eyebrows had shrunk, and his gaze was off into the distance. "There is something I've been watching for since the day I stepped foot in this school, and it has continued to distract me ever since. It's intriguing but also deceiving so keep your eyes out for it but do not make it obvious." He said with a grim tone.

"What is it?" asked Ren with wide eyes.

"Makeup."

Ren's eyebrows shriveled up as he continued to look at Cody. Hoping there was more to his answer or more of something else.

"I mean you think a girl is really hot and get her number then ask her out on a date. You go out with her and she looks even better than she does in school. Then one day she comes in and her face seems completely rearranged and you have no idea what to make of it. I mean sometimes I can't ever tell if their wearing make-up or if their natural but now you can wear make-up and be natural which makes no sense and don't even get me started on that full-face crap."

Ren was at a lost, he was stuck between wanting Cody to take this seriously and telling him exactly what he needed to be doing and finding out more about what full-face and natural make-up meant. However, before he could make up his mind it seemed that Cody made it up for him. "Well, that doesn't really matter, for now, you see what I'm talking about soon enough." Said Cody as he continued down the hallway.

"For right now I want you to just watch the crowd move, the groups, and individuals. It may sound complicated but, you will see what I mean when the bell rings. Don't try too hard, just watch, if something is going on you will see it if you're looking not staring." Said Cody.

"First lunch is now dismissed; first lunch is now dismissed." Said a voice over the intercom. As soon as the intercom cut, Cody leaned up against the nearest locker with Ren following. Within moments students came pouring out of their classrooms on the first floor, all headed in the same direction.

"Watch but don't stare." Is what Ren heard coming from the tall figure standing next to him. His hands were tucked in his pocket with his eyes moving naturally back and forth down the hall. Ren began to scan the now packed hallway with the flow of traffic heading to and directly pass them. Yelling and laughter filled the hallway as did footsteps and locker smashing.

One girl had stopped a few lockers down from Ren, texting away on her phone. Her look was unenthused with a sound of gum popping in her mouth. A group of girls and boys coming up the hall had moved near her as she merged into the flow of traffic with them and continued down the hall. Two boys across the hall coming up were playing on their tablet frantically moving their finger back and forth while hardly paying attention to where they were going.

"Hey Cody!" said a voice that seemed to break Ren's concentration for a second. He turned back onto Cody whose neck was swallowed by a pair of arms latching around it and squeezing tight. Cody reciprocated the gesture by wrapping his arms around her torso and supporting her as she jumped in the air.

"What's up Amanda, how you been?" said Cody who was looking her up and down. Ren broke off from the two and continued to scan the crowd.

"Good, I just got back from San Diego last week, too much fun the weather is always perfect." Said Amanda. Three boys came running down the hallway weaving through traffic almost knocking over a girl.

"Oh yeah, why didn't I get invited?" asked Cody. Two guys across the hall walked down the hallway talking about something they seemed to not want others to hear. The one furthest from them had a mohawk that hung wildly with a piercing in his left eyebrow.

"You didn't ask." Said the girl in a flirtatious tone. The other boy removed his phone from his pocket to begin typing something in while the other spoke something while scanning the hall himself.

"Well we still have our date, right?" said Cody. The boy with the mohawk spotted Cody but continued talking then saw Ren as their eyes locked. Ren looked away quickly at a girl who had a boy's arm around her shoulder who looked at Ren with a low, dry stare.

"Huh, you've been saying that since last year and I'm still waiting." Said Amanda. The boy with his phone was now standing by himself while the kid with the mohawk was gone.

"This year will be different trust me I got more time." Said Cody.

"You mean less girls?"

"No, not even... really more time."

"Oh, you are babysitting?" said Amanda.

Again, Ren was distracted from the word that suddenly popped into his head. "Babysitting?" he said with a distorted face towards the two now cuddled up on the lockers. He didn't pay attention to the pretty blonde who was in Cody's company before but the words that had come from her mouth made her much more interesting.

"Not at all, this is Ren, my partner." Said Cody.

"Oh, from Garrison Middle?" said Amanda. Now beginning to separate from Cody. They were now holding hands at a distance with her moving to continue toward the cafeteria. Babysit was all that was still on his mind after Cody and Amanda completely separated and she made her way down the hall with the small group of lingering students who was late coming out of class.

"So, did you see anything?" said Cody leaning back against the lockers.

"Yea."

"What was the most interesting?"

"The guy with the mohawk talking to another while walking down the hallway. They were talking about something and I'm pretty sure he took down his number in the process. I got distracted for a second but when I looked back the guy with the mohawk was gone."

"That's because he noticed you, he noticed me too, but he didn't notice me noticing him." Said Cody.

His face had dropped, his stare was blank. The main thing Cody had told him to do he forgot that quick. The student had obviously seen Ren staring at him, he had been watching for a while and his eyes told that story. He even looked off Cody with no reaction until he spotted Ren, but Cody had been talking to Amanda the whole time, so how did he know.

"Look but don't stare?" He said looking over at Ren. "People act completely different when there being watched, so make them think they aren't." He said hopping off the locker and making his way down the hallway.

After walking the first floor for a few minutes on their own, Cody and Ren met up in a second level corridor half an hour later. As the intercom announced that second lunch was dismissed the second level was now flooded with students rushing to the food court. Ren and Cody were once again pinned to the lockers observing the traffic flowing down the halls.

Ren was left mostly to his self to observe this time due to all the males who stopped to greet Cody. A few girls stopped to give him a hug or waved in passing but the crowd of males seemed to grow as more came down the hall. This would be considered interesting, but this is not what Ren was here to observe.

He watched the halls, paying close attention to the crowd. "What's good Ren," said an approaching voice that cut his focus immediately. A short pudgy kid with dreadlocks and gold teeth came strolling down the hallway with a group of students whose eyes were half slits with some a glowing pink.

"Oh...what's good Revie." Said Ren dapping him up before dapping up the rest of the group. All of them were sporting some type of jewelry, whether it be gold watches, rings, chains, or teeth. Students adjusted to the now large group that seemed to take up one section of the hall like a car accident taking up two lanes on the interstate.

They were all from New Haven, A public housing complex in Raven town that was also one of the largest in the district. Most people only referred to it as Heaven's gate because of the myth that no one there ever dies. Plenty of them have been shot or even shot multiple times, but somehow each bullet managed to evade any vital organs to complete the job.

As the story goes a long time ago New Haven was involved in a beef with another hood that saw shootings almost every week. As the weeks went by more people were shot but everyone from New Haven except one lived whereas six bodies were lost from the other hood. The icing on the cake was that one of those gunshot survivors from New Haven was shot eight times and still managed to survive. From then on, they saw themselves as invincible and some smart ass from their side of the gate came up with the name Heaven's Gate. Not to mention the correlation between Haven and Heaven which was as far from what New Haven was.

"Oh, I see, so while you on the scene make sure everything is clean mall cop. I don't like my hallways dirty." Said Revie which was met with laughter by his peers including Ren. "My man was top dog in Garrison, but I guess we all gotta start from the bottom in here huh." He said looking over to the crowd that surrounded Cody.

"Yeah...but it ain't no surprise, you knew it wasn't gonna be sweet when we got here. Eventually, we'll be the one's runnin this school." Said Ren who had just noticed a girl with green streaks in her hair walking down the hall. She had about 6 piercings in her ear and skin so pale that she looked sickly. He couldn't believe it but in just those few seconds he forgot what he was supposed to be doing.

"Ain't nobody tryna wait two or three years for that." Said Byron a freshman whose facial hair made him easily mistakable as a senior. "People here already know you." As he gestured to Ren.

Ren saw a boy and a girl lingering on the lockers across the hall. Their faces patchy from the crowd obstructing his view. One of the passing students was a kid with a manbun that wore an irritated look on his face. "Whether I'm known or not I'm a foot soldier right now so I'm in the same boat."

As they left and made their way down the hall with the rest of the second lunch, Ren noticed that the crowd had come and gone with Cody leaning on the lockers with one foot propped up. He nodded to one of the passing students, then hopped off the wall once more and started down the hall.

"Maybe I should blend in with the students like I'm going to lunch as well. Maybe then I can find something of interest happening." Said Ren.

"Trust me you're fine." Said Cody with a grin on his face. "You're not going to always find something suspicious or interesting while your patrolling. We are just here to observe and be the first to act if something does happen. You looked like you were getting the hang of it just now when you were talking to your friends right? If so then you're on the right track."

Third lunch went the same as first and second with Cody being surrounded by girls and boys while Ren tried his best to focus on not focusing on the students. He was approached by a few friends from Garrison and around the district that wanted to see if they had any classes together as he tried this art of unfocused focus. Though if they did, he figured they would rarely see each other because of the policies of the new club or just not attending class because he could. Afterward, they walked the third floor for a while until again meeting on the fourth floor for the last lunch.

"So... as I said before the fourth lunch includes both the fourth and fifth floors. Since there are two floors, we will stay on the fourth to watch the crowd." Said Cody. Every hall they turned on looked the same as the last and they had tracked through so many hallways that it began to feel like a maze. Blue lockers and doors, next turn blue lockers and doors. There were staircases and there were bridges but, in the end, they were just a maze that seemed endless on a quest that seemed minor.

The participants in the final lunch had begun to spill out into the hallway in an unorganized fashion in one direction. The two members of one of the highest-ranking clubs in the school were pinned to the lockers like posters as the crowd flowed pass them. "Hey Cody!" said a high-pitched voice approaching. She had short blond hair, large blue eyes and a slender face which fit perfectly with her skinny nose.

"Hey, Emily...How are you?" said Cody in a kind tender voice. She gave him a tight hug that continued much longer than that of anyone who was just friends. The two threw flirtatious comments back and forth at each other as Cody continued to dap and greet many of his peers passing by. Again, Ren had a few people stop and dap him up as well but watching the students individually and taking mental notes of the images seemed to be getting easier. Not for everyone, but for a few that stood out.

Feet pounding the floor, conversations jumbled into one ball of noise and seas of white with specks of red and blue rushed down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Then within a few minutes the pounding became light, the language was comprehensible, and the sea had now drained. As Emily finally gracefully departed before hugging Cody and waving to Ren the two began walking in the same direction as the students just moments ago.

"Where to now?" asked Ren.

"You will see, there's something else I want to show you."

They made a few turns and at the end of the hallway was a bright light with an increasing noise that amplified from the moment they turned on the hall and drew closer. The opening at the end of the hall was a staircase with a platform that the two leaned over to catch a view of the food court. Staircases surrounded the food court containing hallways from each floor. While some were still coming down the steps, many were packed into the glass elevators stopping from floor to floor to pick up students. It resembled the atrium lobby but was much larger and tube-shaped.

On the first floor were hundreds of tables that were filling quickly with students as a majority was still in line at one of the many restaurants. The Glare was almost blinding from the glass roof that enclosed the food court as Ren squinted for a better look around the top level. "This is where we will be on every other fourth lunch." Said Cody, now leaning over the ledge. "The cafeteria can be very overwhelming, especially for a freshman so I wanted you to practice in the hallways first. Get used to observing individuals at a fast pace, fights and food fights can break out quick in the food court and with such a large group noticing something before it even happens could help stop it before it happens."

Ren's mouth was slightly open, his eyes seemed scattered, the number couldn't possibly be estimated, and they were expected to monitor this crowd with only two people. His hands gripped the railing tightly as he leaned over it. "So..." Ren stopped he continued to scan the landscape from top to bottom. After doing so he had nothing left to say, there wasn't much to say. His questions would only make him sound weak or scared which he has never been suspected of. If he couldn't do it, he wouldn't be doing it and his partner is proven as a highly skilled member and he would have to prove himself to be one as well.

Ren made it to his fourth-period class only ten minutes late which was the earliest he had been so far. The students staring had little effect on him as it had been happening all day now. However, Ren seemed shocked at the sight of a teacher being thrilled to see a late student entering her class and wishing him the best as he walked out twenty minutes early.

When he arrived at the clubroom it came to no surprise of the number of members that were in there. The perks to this club seemed like something you would be crazy to not take advantage of. Even Eden and Ryan were sitting in their cubbies talking to Lucas and Lily. "Hey Ren, how was your day?" said Eden.

"Good." He said as he dapped up Ryan.

"So...How did your patrol go." She said as her eyes squinted, and neck bent.

"Oh, it was good. It's a little overwhelming at first but I got used to it."

"That's good, I hear patrolling fourth lunch is the hardest shift." Said Lily.

"Yea I know, but I'll be ok." He said sitting down in his cubby between Eden and Ryan.

"You sure about that?" said Gwen approaching from the entrance. Everyone looked in the direction of the door to see the slender brunette moving closer. Her lips were tight, and her eyebrows raised as she passed by and went to her cubby. Lily watched Gwen pass by her then quickly looked back at Ren who had not taken his eyes off Gwen.

It was silence for a moment. "What do you mean?" Ren said still staring at her through Lily and Lucas whose head was still in his cubby.

"I mean it's your first day in Valdigan and you have the hardest shift to patrol. Whether you're with Cody or not this isn't Garrison. Your little middle school doesn't even come close to what you're going to experience here so don't take it lightly." She said rearranging her cubby.

"Nobody is saying that all I'm saying is that I'll be fine. Tomorrow we start getting jobs and I'll solve them like I did at Garrison."

"What?" She said standing up and staring pass Lily who quickly moved aside. "You think you're just gonna beat your way through the case. That's all you did in middle school, find the person beat them up and return the item. You can fight...sure, but that's not all there is to solving a case."

"That's not all I can do as shown in the summer. You couldn't see me in most of the events and..."

"But whose partners with the Leader of the VTF?" She said rising from out her cubby now looking directly at Ren with those piercing hazel eyes. "I am, I'm the one who was chosen as her partner ahead of you which would mean I'm more capable than you are."

Though the room and its groups went on, as usual, the upperclassmen were beginning to listen in on the argument that had been taking place in a small corner of the clubroom. Slowly turning the volume down on the tv a couple of notches every few seconds. Drawing back and sizing up the cue ball to many times while another twisted chalk onto the end of his stick so much that it began to cover more than the tip. Others quietly moved about in their cubbies, steadily getting ready for departure but their ears were glued to the heightened discussion.

Ren stood to his feet still looking directly at Gwen who did not blink as he rose up. "That ain't bout nothin, I'll have my first case solved in no time. Probably before you." There was no smirk.

Her eyes shot open as if the words themselves hit her in the face. She slowly walked past Lucas and Lily who stepped further aside and met face to face with Ren directly in front of Eden. "There's no way you can beat me in solving cases. Compare our track record and even you can see that." Said Gwen, in a quiet room as all eyes converged on that one spot.

"Um... Wow... I can't believe how confident you guys are in your skills." Said Lily looking hesitantly at Eden. "I'm pretty nervous about receiving my first case so hearing you guys talk so confidently is kind of reassuring.

"Yeah..." Said Eden looking back and forth between the two frozen figures and Lily. "But I don't expect nothing less from you two. Working together on cases will be even more fun than before."

The bell sounded as both finally retreated with everyone gathering their things for departure while a few members entered. Lily exhaled deeply as she turned towards her cubby. The tension that was just so thick had now been lifted as Ren, Eden, and Ryan made their way to the buses.

There's always a first for everything and this had to be the first time that Valley Green had been so interested in the VTF. The only real interest they use to have in the VTF was the personnel responsible for covering every shift at lunch. However, everyone seemed to have a question for Ren about his new club.

"Aye what all you get in that clubroom?" Asked Ben who was hanging over the back of his seat.

"Couches, Cubbies, tv's, refrigerator...stuff like that."

"Man, I know they be skippin wit no problem. Do you gotta go to class?" Asked Donte from across the aisle.

"Not If you don't want to."

"What about leaving the school?" Asked Remi who came walking from the front of the bus as if it was still parked and sitting down in the seat ahead of him.

"Yep all that, we really don't gotta answer to nobody for real." He said making himself comfortable in his seat.

"So, what type of work you got so far, anything today?" Asked Ronnie who was all the way in the back with Zel and the other seniors. Everyone including Ren turned their heads toward the back of the bus. "What cases you got so far?"

"Nothing actually... it's the first day so there wasn't anything for us to do." Ren said.

"Oh yeah, well I wanna hear some stories soon as you get some you feel me." Said Ronnie.

"I can't do that, the info of the cases we work have to stay inside the VTF. Leaks could cause a problem in solving the case."

The next thing heard was the sucking of teeth from multiple people on the bus. Ren, however, was not surprised, people never take the word _no_ well from someone who rarely says it. "So, you gon switch up like that Ren?" Said Ham, who was holding a honey bun.

"He not even switchin up that's his job, you already knew that so stop playin wit him." Yelled Tamika from a few seats ahead of him. "He doesn't owe you or anybody else anything so bye!"

After the outburst, the conversation changed from the VTF to people minding their business to the classes they had and finished with what new stories were told that happened to their peers over the summer. However, Ren sat down and put his headphones in and focused on the cars on the road with them. He knew that most likely tomorrow he would get a case and wondered if his first would be as difficult as Kim made it out to be.

He would have to back up all the talking he did earlier in the clubroom which he was already feeling stupid about doing. He let his emotions get the best of him which is something he had been working hard to fix but allowed it to be torn down by Gwen in a matter of seconds. Either way, tomorrow will come so he knew that he better arrive prepared.

# Chapter 4

### The Missing Watch

From the time Ren got off the bus the next day to the time he sat down in his cubby to check his phone, there was a new email notification on his screen. He opened it to see the words VTF over top a subject that read _Case file_. He opened the message that contained a paragraph and a file below it.

At dismissal yesterday, Sophomore Ben Richards watch was stolen out of his bag in the hallway before going to his bus. He knows it happened at dismissal because he put his watch in his book bag for gym class and never put it back on during the day. When he checked his bag on the bus is when he noticed it was gone. Use any resources necessary to find the watch and return it to the owner. A picture of the watch is below with a copy of the student's schedule.

"Good morning." He heard, looking to catch Eden walking over sporting the exact same pair of khaki joggers he was wearing.

"Good morning," Said Ren watching her sit down next to him. "Did you get an email from the club this morning.

"Yea, I did." She said cheerfully. "Someone stole money out of Amanda Welch's purse in her 3rd-period class, hopefully, they haven't spent it. So, I'm guessing you have a case too?"

"Yea, Ben Richards watch was stolen at dismissal. Might even have a lead but it's way too early to call it." Said Ren putting his belongings in his cubby.

Everyone else seemed to be talking with their partner on a subject. Ren looked around the room once, then scanned through again to make sure he didn't miss him but there was no sign of Cody anywhere. The door had opened, and Larry came strolling in with a cool demeanor while keeping his hands comfortably tucked in his pocket. The first time he removed them was to gesture Eden over to his cubby where he offered his cubby to her and began to discuss the case of Amanda's purse. Ren picked up his phone to a text message from an unknown number that read _This is Cody, meet me by Ben's first-period class in 10mins._

Ren had turned the corner a few minutes after the bell to see Cody down a long hallway looking at his phone while standing in front of a door. "What's up Ren?" said Cody with a cheerful smile on his face.

"What's up Cody." Said Ren as he dapped up Cody before looking at the closed door in front of them. He could see the teacher moving about in front of the classroom through the rectangular window. "So, we just go in there and pull him out of class, right?" asked Ren slightly distancing himself from the door.

"Yea...but let me go in by myself, the two of us might seem a little threatening plus I don't wanna stir up the class. Me coming in there is already too much." Cody opened the door and the moment of him being recognized became obvious by the whispers and greetings flooding the doorway. He couldn't help but smile, wave, and a nod to the class as he made his way over to the teacher whose eyes seemed to light up in his presence. With a short remark to the teacher, she quickly took back control of the class and made an announcement.

"Ben...could you please step out into the hallway with Mr. Cody, he would like to have a word with you." She said. He stood up rather quickly and began making his way to the front of the class. His nose seemed a little out of place on his face, but his butt chin drew some attention away from it.

"So, we know that you took your watch off during third period and when you got on the bus it was gone." Said Cody, closing the door to the classroom. "Can you tell us why you believe it was stolen during dismissal and not any other time."

"Well, I had been talking to a few of my friends whose lockers are close by. By this time the hallway was already full, I placed my bookbag down behind me while I was grabbing a few things out my locker and wasn't really paying attention to my bag. When I looked back at it, it had been laying down and moved from where I placed it." Said Ben.

"Ok, did you ever leave your bag unattended in third period, and who were you sitting by?" asked Cody.

"Just a few friends, Mark, Eugene, Emma, and Peter. And no, I hung it over the back of the chair and before fourth period I put it in my locker." Ben said.

"Ok cool, we will get back to you when we have something or contact you if we have any questions. But before we leave, where is your locker located?" Cody said. Ren and Cody made their way down the empty hallway with the only sound being the closing of the classroom door they just left. "With that, we know that our time frame is between third period and dismissal. Since there is a possibility that it may have been tampered with during dismissal, we will check the cameras to see if that's the case."

After taking a longer route around to Ben's locker, the two made it back around to the main entrance. Across the Atrium was the main office to the left of the entrance and to the right was a lone door with a touchpad. Cody approached the door and stepped aside looking at Ren, who knew almost immediately what to do. He pressed his finger down on the keypad until the light under the sensor flashed green and they heard a click.

He opened the door and found a dimly light room with a large computer monitor that sat on a small desk. Surrounding that monitor was dozens of smaller one's propped up on the wall staring down on a lonely black rolling chair. There were four more chairs in the room lined up on the wall, but Cody grabbed one and sat down in it, rolling it up to the side of the desk.

Ren slowly sat down in the chair that was already in front of the desk looking as though every screen was filled with activity instead of empty hallways with the occasional student going to the bathroom. Cody moved the mouse which caused the large screen to illuminate. Immediately their eyes were now squinting at the white login screen in front of them. "We really have to change this login screen," Cody said.

He hit the enter button after typing in a password and two options were now listed on the screen that had gone black again. _Live feed_ and _Archives_ glowed in green letters. "So first I'm going to show you the live feed." He said clicking the letters. Dozens of smaller screens that depicted the monitors overhead were now displayed across the large screen. As Cody clicked on one picture a monitor overhead blacked out as the small window expanded to full screen to show the camera feed in the section of the building.

"The live feed is very simple, and you also have the number in the corner to tell you the location." As he minimized the screen to show everything once more you could see small combinations of a letter and number at the bottom of every small screen. A2, C3, B1, and D5 was a few of the combinations that were on the monitors.

He then hit the escape button on his keyboard, and it took him back to the menu where he clicked on Archives. Immediately a long list of dates came up from the present day all the way back to the beginning of last school year. "All this is is the dates for which day you want to go back to. I'll click on yesterday and next will show all the sections in the school like the live feed." However, instead of moving these were still images of the building section.

Cody then clicked on one of many screens that expanded and hit the play button at the bottom of the screen. The clip started with an empty hallway but as Cody began dragging the time length button along with the screen, bodies came flying in and out of the screen. He stopped after the last bell had rung, and everyone was out their classes Ben could be seen walking up to his locker talking to someone as they continued down the hall while he stopped.

He put in his locker combination and opened the door fast but stopped it before hitting his neighbor. He reached in his locker without looking and pulled out his bookbag and placed it on the floor next to him. A few friends caught him on their way down the hall and stopped to talk for a while. Not much could be seen but not they or Ben seemed focused on the bag next to them as traffic continued to flow down the hall. Ren and Cody kept all eyes on the bag the whole time the camera ran. It was bumped, kicked and at one point fell over on its back but not once did they see someone crouching or bend over where the bag was. After a couple more seconds he closed his locker, took his bookbag and walked down the hallway with a few friends.

First period had ended just that quickly, but they would at least cross off dismissal on their list. "We know that it wasn't taken at dismissal." Said Cody. "Which leaves his third-period class as the only option, but it seems pretty unlikely that they would take it right there in his face."

"Well, he did say he had his bookbag on the back of his chair. Depending on who was behind him they could have gone right in his bag and took it." Said Ren.

"Even though he was sitting by friends you think someone went in his bag without being seen by any of them?"

"Man, I know a lot of people I call friends that I don't trust," Ren said.

Cody pulled out his phone and texted Ben, he received an immediate reply before his phone could comfortably drop back into his pocket. "He says that Mark was sitting behind him with two other guys he didn't know but their names were Larry and Matt from what he remembers Mark telling him," Cody said leaving the room with Ren right behind. They went to the front desk to get a print out of Mark's schedule and went straight to his second-period class.

Cody flung open the door to a startled teacher in the middle of gathering a pile of paper off her desk. Before she could speak Cody beat her to her question. "Hey, Mrs. Donald, sorry for interrupting your class I just want to speak to Mark real quick outside if that's cool?" He said.

"Yes...Of course, please."

"What you need?" Mark said in a low voice posting up on the wall directly outside the class.

"It's the second day of school so I'm pretty sure you know why we're here." Said Cody.

"You came and pulled me out class, how I'm supposed to know."

"OK, so we playin stupid huh... So, what happened to Ben's watch?" Cody asked.

"I don't know, you askin the wrong one." He said frowning up his face.

"Ok, so I see you just wanna waste time." Said Cody taking a step closer to the cool and collected Mark and invading his personal space. The appealing grin disappeared from his face and his alluring eyes were now wide open. "But right now, I'm not for playin games so did you take the watch or did one of your friends do it. I'll just go ask one of them and they will tell me, it's up to you."

Ren couldn't take his eyes off the two of them, Cody had full control of his emotions and seemed to be able to turn it on and off at will. Something that Ren still had trouble with. It was an important trait to have but seeing Cody made him realize what a necessity it was to have while in the VTF.

"Look I saw him put it in his bag, but I don't have it if it's gone."

"So does Larry or Matt have it?"

There was a quick twitch in Mark's eye as he continued staring down the empty hallway. "I don't know who has it ok, it's just not me... I promise you can check everything I have if you want." Taking a quick look back at Cody before looking back down the hallway.

Cody Didn't take his eyes off Mark that moment, he continued to stare at him until he backed off and returned to his normal self. "It's cool, look you said you don't have it so you can go back to class." He opened the door for Mark, and he went back to his seat. "Mrs. Donald, can I speak to you for just a moment?"

You could see her students asking Mark what happened as soon as Mrs. Donald was in the doorway. "Please make sure Mark does not leave this classroom before the end of the period for any reason what so ever. If he does please contact the office to let us know."

"Of course." She said.

After retrieving both Matt and Larry's schedule they went to Matt's classroom first. This time Ren was the one who entered. "Hi, Ms. Peters is Matt Stevenson here?" He said watching the teacher. Though his eyes were on her his ears could hear everything from his name in conversations between students.

"I'm sorry but Matt Stevenson is not here." She said.

"Ok, thank you."

"He might not be here today." Said Ren as they continued down the hallway.

"I doubt it." Cody Said. "There are so many places in this school to skip I would be surprised if he actually wasn't here. Not to mention it's only the second day of school. We'll search them one by one then we can decide whether he is here or not."

Larry had been in his class unlike Matt but also, unlike Mark, he told Cody and Ren everything. From how Mark took the watch out of Ben's bag, to him giving it to Matt who wanted it for himself. Now the only thing left to do was find Matt and return the watch to the proper owner.

The first place they checked was the staircase that led to the second gym on the other side of the school. It was used mostly by the gymnastics team with the volleyball team occasionally needing the space. However, the most important fact was that classes were rarely held there so students were always in the staircase staying out of sight from cameras.

The closer they got to the gym, the louder the talking and laughing became. Ren could see high beams and mats laid out across the gym floor as they turned off one of the hallways right across from the staircase. The next thing he saw was a staircase packed with students. They were leaning against the wall laughing, sitting underneath and on the staircase talking, and even standing on the landing going up to the second level playing.

A girl sitting on the steps holding her phone and giggling was the first to see Cody and instantly the color drained from her face. It seemed to have a chain reaction because everyone began looking toward the door and one by one their faces seemed to go numb. "What's up!" Cody said with a smile and open arms. "Why so serious all a sudden, you guys know I'm here for a certain reason and if you didn't do anything since the school year started you shouldn't be scared."

Footsteps could be heard pounding up the steps above them, slowly fading away. It took little searching before Cody found Matt sitting at the top of the landing near two girls and another guy. Thick eyebrows, and large nose with an excessive amount of gel in his hair. "Matt Stevenson, what's up man I been lookin for you. You weren't in class so I figured you might be around here somewhere."

"Ok, what do you want?" asked Matt. Ren could see the gold watch on his wrist with a black screen. Immediately Matt covered the watch with his other hand while staring back at Cody like he was the one in the wrong.

"I want that watch that you just covered up."

"Why would I give you my watch?"

"Because it's not yours." Said Cody moving towards the steps. The two guys on the first step got up and moved towards the other students standing on the wall. "Which is something I'm sure you know more than I do so please hand it over so I can return it to its proper owner."

Cody stepped on the first step and students sitting on the steps pushed back towards the wall or the rail. Matt stood up from his seat with an irritated look on his face looking down his nose at Cody before stepping up onto the landing. "And who are you to be tellin me what to do?" Said Matt.

Ren could see where this was going and began counting the number of students still hanging around. Though most seemed to still be in shock, Cody and Ren were the minority and if it got violent, they were at a disadvantage. As Ren stepped into the middle of the stairwell five students on the lower level hopped off the wall and glided right past him out the double doors. Within a few seconds, the whole lower level of the stairwell was gone.

"Ok, how about this, let me at least see that watch. If it is yours there's nothing to worry about, right?" Said Cody. This logic seemed to make no sense to Matt because he sucked his teeth and made his way down the steps directly past Cody. He was walking straight to Ren when a powerful force jerked him to a halt by the arm. He forcefully pulled away, swinging his elbow back and forth.

"Get your hands off me!" Yelled Matt whipping around and rushing into Cody's face. His eyebrows were jammed into his eyes with his fist balled so tight his knuckles were turning white. With that exchange, everyone on the staircase was watching with open mouths.

"This is the last time I'm asking." Said Cody with a cool gaze.

Matt Held his wrist up and began playing with the strap to it. "Whatever man, take it." Said Matt right before turning that same hand into a fist and swinging it full speed at Cody. Immediately Cody ducked it and grabbed his extended arm. With momentum and strength, Cody used his hips to lift Matt off the ground and slam him down right in front of him. All in the same motion he dropped to a knee and slid his arm tightly around Matt's neck so quickly his eyes looked ready to pop right out.

Everyone that was still on the staircase jumped at what had taken place. Only one person stood up and he came jumping down the flight of steps from the very top. As soon as he hit the ground, he rushed Cody with both fists balled up tight.

It was obvious by his facial expression when Ren stepped in front of him that he completely forgot there was another person there. He changed his target from Cody to Ren and swung wide bringing every bit of force he could with it. Ren ducked the punch and connected two quick blows to each side of his rib cage. He dropped so fast that at first, the pain seemed to not reach his brain until he began rolling on the ground in agony.

"Now take off the watch before I decide to apply more pressure." Said Cody slightly lightening his grip. Matt suddenly began fumbling with the watch trying as best he could to catch his breath. The watch fell to the ground and Cody released his hold while Matt continued to violently cough and gasp for air. Cody picked up the watch to check to make sure it was Ben's and as soon as he opened the screen, he saw a picture of Ben.

"Yep...this is his." Said Cody to Ren who was still watching the crowd for any movement. Cody stopped and looked over to still find a staircase full of students with open mouths, frozen in place. "Uhm...You all can leave now." He said smiling. All of them hopped up stumbling over one another to get up the staircase.

After the altercation, Cody and Ren took the two students down to the main office to receive their punishment. They walked them past the front desk and down the hall all the way to the back turning onto the last hallway. There were three rooms with wide mirrors showing each. Inside the rooms were only a small table and a few chairs. Cody opened the first door and allowed the two suspects to enter and sit down.

Back up front, Cody pulled a form from off the shelf behind the front desk and laid it on the desk for Ren to see. "This is an action form; most likely you will be using this whenever you finish a case. It's for the office to have a file on what happened, the students involved and your opinion on what the punishment should be for the suspect." Cody said pointing to different parts of the paper.

Cody filled out the paper which gave only a paragraph description of what took place. "We will have to make a full report for VTF once we get a chance so there's no point in writing all the details down now." Said Cody with the pen over the spot the read _Punishment_. "We will give them three days; they can spend the rest of the week at home and come back with a better attitude."

After placing the paper in the folder in the empty bin, they left the office to go their separate ways. "I think I'm gonna go back to the clubroom and chill." Said Cody texting away on his phone. "You?"

"I'ma try to catch the rest of this second-period class or at least get the homework for it. But I got a question?" said Ren.

Cody's phone went off again as he looked at it once more. "What's up." He said reading it and looking back up at Ren.

"You weren't worried about anyone else jumping in the fight back there? They were deep in that stairwell; at any moment they could have jumped us."

"Look, most people know who we are and what we're about. Don't get me wrong there are a few that will try you no matter what, but a lot of people talk a good game but lack action. What's more surprising is that he tried me one on one, that doesn't happen often." Said Cody. "Plus, you punished his friend, so we were good. Soon they won't even want to try you either."

Ren knew that Cody was good, but he never thought that he would be that good. His moves were so fluent and quick as if he knew what exactly was going to happen. He felt a sense of admiration, but also a little fear. There was only one person in his life who he thought he couldn't beat and that was Zel. However, at that moment he had met number two.

"I'll see you at lunch in the clubroom, Kim wants to meet us there to brief her on the case." Said Cody now walking down the hall.

# Chapter 5

### First Case, First Fight

Ren was relieved to catch the last couple minutes of his Art class. His mind had been elsewhere due to the events taking place just a few minutes earlier, but he was able to meet his teacher and learn about the class from her. Reflecting on the fight that they were just in was one thing, but he now had his first meeting with Kim in a few minutes.

The club room had a few members eating while watching tv as a few were in their cubbies. He looked over behind the classroom set and saw Kim sitting at her desk on her phone. Cody was nowhere to be seen so Ren made his way over to his cubby. He figured it best to wait until Cody came and they both could talk to her together.

"Ren!" Said a beautiful voice just as he began in that direction.

He looked over and saw those beautiful blue eyes looking at him with one eyebrow turned up and began to make his way over to her. "Hey, Ms. Kimberly... what's up." He said.

"Nothing much just scrolling through QuicPic in my free time. And Ren..." She said looking back up at him. "Just call me Kim, I'm four years older than you not forty.

"Cool." He said sitting in one of the empty seats across from Kim.

She locked her phone and placed it on the desk by the laptop. "So, how is everything going so far?"

"Good, no complaints here." He said tightly.

She smiled softly at him. "Ok,...have you been able to get to your classes fine with all the extra activities? I know it's just the second day, but you've had plenty to do since yesterday."

"Uhm." He looked at the floor for a moment before answering. By itself, it seemed his hand had risen and begun scratching his head. "Honestly, I have but while I have been there, I haven't really been able to focus that much.

"Of course." She said with a shrug. "Everybody goes through it there first few days or even weeks. This club asks a lot of you, but I wouldn't have accepted you if I didn't think you could do it."

Ren felt a heavy drop in his shoulder as well as his back. The trees in the front roundabout were glowing in the sun's rays through the window. For a second, he forgot where he was. It was only the second day, but he couldn't remember anything from not even one of his classes. It's possible this may become a problem later but for now, at least he knew it was normal.

"But it seems you won't have a problem with your VTF duties I see." She said continuing. "Third period is just starting, and you've already managed to solve your first case. That's something that most people don't do at all...good job...I'm impressed."

"Oh...that wasn't even me for real. Cody did all the work and instructed me through everything really."

Again, she smiled, and Ren quickly looked away. "You're modest, but I find it hard to believe that you had nothing to do in solving the case. Cody isn't the type to do all the work...he can but I know he's not the type."

The door opened a moment later and Cody entered, he nodded to the members sitting over on the couch as they watched him walk over to Kim and Ren. "What's up Kim." He said dropping down in the seat next to Ren.

"Hey, Cody...do you still have the evidence or have you returned it to the owner already?" Kim asked as she switched positions in her seat as she uncrossed then crossed the other leg over. She rolled her chair closer to the desk and leaned over it with her elbows firmly on the table with her hands balled up.

"Yeah," Cody said going into his pants pocket. He pulled out the gold watch with a black touch screen in the center. When he removed it from his pocket the white neon light from around the edges of the screen glowed. After a second the screen illuminated, showing the owner of the watch. "I'll go return it as soon as we leave here." He said.

"Good...now what exactly happened during the case?" She said looking at them both.

Ren waited and looked at Cody for the next response who did not hesitate after the initial pause. He began with the two of them stopping pass Ben's classroom and asking him a few questions about the watch and any of yesterday's events that would be helpful. He told her about the recordings they saw and their conclusions before Ren suggested that it could have been one of his friends that had a hand in it.

She looked back at Ren with a smirk which he made sure he was too busy to see. Cody continued with the questioning which led them to go find Matt in the stairwell by the second gym. Which led to Matt being taken by force and Ren assisting with the takedown of his friend. Ren took a quick glance over his shoulders to see what his peers were watching by the tv when he saw most of them watching them in the corner.

"Well good work you to, I must say that I'm caught off guard at how quickly you finished this case, but I guess I shouldn't be." She said brushing her long blond hair back over her shoulder. "I will have another case for you tomorrow so be ready and Cody I want that report ASAP." She said snapping at him with her manicured nails.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah." He said getting up from his seat with his hand tucked in his pocket and his head crocked to the side. "I got you."

"Thank you, Ms. Kim...I mean Kim." Ren said tightly standing and leaving the desk.

"You guys work quick." Said Danny putting one of his prep meals in the microwave.

"Why waste time you know." Said Cody throwing his arms up and smiling.

"Good job Ren." Said Kenny leaning over the couch.

"Thanks, you get a case yet?" asked Ren, making his way over to his cubby.

"No, not yet, Ms. Kim told us she would have one for us tomorrow."

"Just Kim Kenny." Said Kim from behind the laptop.

"Uhm...Sorry, Ms.... I mean Kim."

"Just in case I don't see you anymore today, good job partner." Said Cody as he dapped up Ren before leaving out.

With his first case done in record time, he felt way better than he did at the end of his first day. He took out his phone to check up on Eden and find out if she could meet him in the clubroom for her lunch. Before he could even step out the clubroom, she replied that she will be there in a few minutes.

Ren got back with their food a few minutes after Eden whose bright red hair stood out in a mostly dark colored room. "Thanks, did you get the right sauce?" She said opening her bag.

"Yea." Said Ren taking out his sandwich.

"You two are so cute, are you dating?" asked Monica standing over by the microwave.

"Huh!... no!" Said Eden Caught off guard.

"We're just good friends." Said Ren ready to take a bite of his sandwich.

"Really?... you guys seem to know each other very well and fit together. I mean it's only the second day and I have already seen you two together a lot."

"Our parents knew each other so we grew up together, that's all." Said Eden before eating her fries.

"So, we solved our first case," Ren said stopping Eden from taking her first bite of fries. Her green eyes were nearly popped out her head as she turned to face Ren.

"For real!" She said before taking a bite of her fries. "That's great...wow you guys work fast." She said trying to chew and talk.

"Yea, Cody moves fast so I gotta make sure I keep up."

"The same with Larry we have a few leads on who could have stolen the money but everyone in her class has said they saw nothing. Larry said we will go check the cameras to see if it could have happened during another period." She said.

"Yea that's what we had to do. You should also ask her who she was sitting by in class as well. That also helped us figure out who took it."

"Will do, does Gwen know?"

"I doubt it." He said, curling his lips. "It just happened, and I haven't seen her any today."

"Yea but look who her partner is. She'll know soon enough and probably won't even acknowledge you for it."

"Don't matter, ain't nobody trippin off her." He said taking another bite of his sandwich.

Third and fourth period came and went with Ren arriving and staying in both. His fourth period was his first time finishing a class from start to finish. He received a few questions about him being in a fight during second period, but he simply said yeah and kept it moving.

After gathering his things from the clubroom, he and Eden made their way down to the buses. However, by the time they reached the entrance, they were bombarded by a group of students from Valley Green. The crowd of students that they were walking with were casually pushed aside for room next to Ren. Circling around the two and taking up two of the exit doors on their way out.

"Brah! I heard you put someone to sleep on your second day of school." Said benny pushing a kid out the way that was walking beside Ren.

"Na brah, I was just doin my job." He said smiling.

"Eden! He put him to sleep or not?"

"I don't know, he hasn't even told me the whole story." She said.

"But you dropped him thought right." Said Craig from behind them, a guy almost as wide as he was tall."

"Yea," Ren said spinning around quick. "What you think."

Everyone started to laugh as they stepped off the curb and in between the busses. Their bus was on the other side of the field that was filled with students talking with friends or scrambling back and forth to find their bus. It was easy to spot Valley Green's from all the heads sticking out the window yelling at others in the field.

"My bus is up front." Said Eden speeding up to exit the group. "Bye Ren, see you guys later."

"Byeee Eden!" Said the group in a mocking tone.

"So, let me guess... you still ain't hit her yet?" asked Benny looking down at Ren with his chin held high.

There was a pause as everyone waited for Ren to speak. He looked down at the grass contemplating his choice of words but knew no matter how he worded it he would receive the same response. "We don't have that kind of relationship." He said.

He was forced to pause due to the overwhelming sound of teeth sucking, cursing, and brah's that followed. It was a question he got every time she came around them and an answer he gave every time it was asked. Somehow it seemed to never get old to ask and always receive the same response as if it was going to change.

"You know you can tell us if your gay right?" Said Rocky from the left side of him. He was a very rough looking guy with a tattoo right below his right eye.

"We're really good friends and I've known her since I was little. We just have never been that way with each other ok. I've been with other girls anyway, so you know I ain't gay stop playin wit me."

"But we not talkin about other girls we talkin bout Eden. One of the baddest girls in our class. Ain't nobody hit her yet and dating is one thing, smashin is another and we all know you ain't smash nothing yet." Said benny.

Ren sucked his teeth as everyone laughed as he got on the bus. He quickly got over the conversation they just had when he saw the mood on the bus. Jumping over seats, running down the aisle, yelling, laughing, the only person in a bad mood was the bus driver. It was like entering a club that was in full swing, nothing else could be heard from the noise outside to the buses humming engine.

They all found seats quickly on the bus but only a few sat in them. Ren had sat down around the middle of the bus in an empty seat that had a view of the trees. He went to take his phone out his pocket when his seat became crowded with friends trying to find out what happened in the stairwell by the second gym.

"So did Cody really choke him out and put him to sleep?"

"Na, he put him in a headlock but he ain't put him to sleep," Ren said turning his head.

"Well, I heard you put his man to sleep and left'em there."

"What! Na, we took them back to the main office to write up a report. And I ain't put nobody to sleep I just dropped him." He said turning his head the other way.

"What happened why you did all that anyway?" said a light squeaky voice from close to the back of the bus. Ren and Everyone surrounding him turned to where the voice came from and saw a thin light-skinned female with long tracks, pink lipstick and a pink wrap tied around her forehead. She was sitting next to a girl who seemed to have the same tracks she had with nails that would make it impossible to write with. "What did he do why you had to beat them up and bring them in? Please let me know." Moving her head back a forth. The noise had died down toward the back of the bus with many people listening. Toward the front, many were still acting as if it were the last day of school.

"I can't."

"Aww!!" The back erupted all at once. Again, just like the walk to the bus, Ren received a variety of mixed responses which again involved swearing. At that moment the bus jerked forward, sending a wave of students stumbling back and forth while quickly grabbing onto seats to stop from falling. The bus driver never said a word or even looked back to make sure everyone was fine.

"I'm sorry but I'm not allowed to discuss any cases with anyone outside the VTF, especially students."

But his plea fell on deaf ears as everyone continued their complaining. Many continued to push him to spill what the boys did, and some started guessing at what it was they did. Either way, it seemed like it would be a long bus ride home.

"Aye! Chill out, man." Said Zel. "You Maxin for no reason."

Everyone was now quiet again waiting for another response. Everyone included Ren turned toward the back of the bus. Even those who were in the back were looking at the last seat in the corner.

"Some kid named Ben got his watch stolen in class when they took it out his bookbag. One of the transfers knew Mark and he got him to take it for him since he was sitting right behind him. Matt got beat in the stairwell along with some other transfer."

With everyone now calming down and celebrating with Ren for beating someone up in the stairwell he was now free of having to do crowd control on his own friends. He was relieved for it but at the same time wondered how Zel got all that information so quickly. There were probably still VTF members who did not know the whole story but the most troublesome person in the school seemed to know it. It was crazy but the more he thought about it maybe it wasn't. After all, he knew everyone, and everyone knew him.

# Chapter 6

### Case Work

The next morning, Ren was one of the first members in the club room with only Kim and Larry beating him there. Both were sitting down at Kim's desk in the corner laughing and greeted him cheerfully as he entered. He had received another email this morning about an ongoing case that he and his partner would be working on from last year and wanted to get their early for his briefing. Before he could reach them, Larry was up and out of his seat making his way over to his cubby as Kim pulled what looked like a booklet out of one of the drawers.

"It's good to see you here bright and early Ren." She said smiling at him. It seemed that no matter what time of the day it was, Kim always had this glow to her. Every time he made eye contact with her, he got this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach and his heart would begin to race. He quickly looked down at the white booklet that was on the desk with the title _Locker Break-ins_ on it. "We're not going to wait on your partner since he is familiar with the case already and he won't get here anyway until first period has already started. This right here is all you need to know so far on your next case." She said sliding the booklet across the desk towards him.

It looked like a take-home winter packet if nothing else. To think that everything in there was from one case seemed unbelievable. He opened the first page and saw a disk in the pocket and on the next page was a photo of a locker that seemed to be destroyed by someone. The door wasn't hanging off its hinges or dented up, but the number combination pad was completely missing. Seemingly ripped right out of the locker.

"What the..."

"Exactly" Interrupted Kim. "So far there have been five break-ins and in all five each locker was found like that. Though there were only five they all happened within the span of a month in a half with the last one taking place the Monday of the last week of school. Which leads us to believe that these events may continue into this school year. That disk is footage from every break in last year to try to help you as much as possible. If there is any more info you need don't hesitate to ask, ok."

"Ok, Thanks." Said Ren standing up with his face still in the case book. He walked over to the desks and sat down in one of the far seats over by the wall. He dropped his bookbag beside him, took out his phone and headphones and put on a playlist while he began reading through the pages. His music canceled out any noise coming from other members that came in the club room or anyone who yelled his name that morning.

Whether he was that interested or the case was that interesting he couldn't stop reading it. Every attempt was done on a Monday morning with at least three suspects involved, sometimes more. Even when VTF was in pursuit they were either outrun or bested in close quarters by the suspects. Furthermore, they wore hoodies that were tied tight around their face with animal masks where the only thing visible was their eyes. Whoever this is, they are extremely organized in their approach, something that was very new to Ren.

Garrison had thugs who didn't plan for the unexpected, who acted on impulse. However, whether they were thugs or not; at Valdigan they were organized with plans in place for unexpected events. Though he felt overwhelmed he felt a thrill every time he turned the page. Finding them would involve planning and proper execution.

The last attempt was also a success with VTF failing to apprehend the suspects. This time they were able to track them deep into the woods but were bested in a struggle to retrieve the items. Ren looked around the room and saw it was empty, he took off his headphones and immediately heard the tv but thought nothing of it. He grabbed the book and made his way over to the tv where he saw Cody spread out on the couch across the room flipping through channels.

"You done?" Cody said looking at the tv.

"Yea, I was just about to watch the video of it. When did you come in?"

"I been here for a while, trying to find something good, but there's nothing good on. Everybody done came and gone pretty much, I made sure no one bothered you though. But go ahead and put the disk in."

Ren took out his phone and saw that first period had started some 20 minutes ago. It was a surprise but made no difference since missing class no longer affected him. With his mind focused on other things he would eventually get the work for later anyway. He turned on the game system and inserted the disk. After loading the system and the disk, the image of the first video appeared with a play button in the middle of the screen.

There was an empty hallway with a few doors still open to classrooms. It seemed like school had already been dismissed from how abandoned the hallway looked. Suddenly three students with hoods and masks came down the hall with a brisk walk passing a few classroom doors on the way. One was carrying a duffle bag while another had a bookbag on him.

They stopped abruptly in front of one locker with one of them opening the duffle bag and pulling out something that looked like a battering ram. The other two stood on each side while they pressed it against the door. Within seconds it slowly drew back from the door like it was winding up. Then slammed back in with a force that could be seen even without sound accompanying it. They opened the locker and stripped it clean putting everything in the book bag and by the time teachers and students came to the door to see what the noise was they were packed up and running full speed down the hallway.

This happened again the second time with a clean escape. The third and fourth time however VTF caught them fleeing the building out of one of the exits and gave chase. There is no camera footage after that but in the case file, it says that no suspects were apprehended. The final attempt showed the best results of all, however, it ended with a fight in the woods that VTF loss.

"Did you help at all on this case?" Ren asked watching the suspects escape for the fifth time.

"Na. I was a sophomore and had other cases at the time. Plus, this was the most important case at the time, so it was given to one of the seniors. He asked a few other seniors for help on it later but the only person who wasn't a senior that helped last year was Kim and due to her ongoing case, she only was able to help on the fourth attempt." He said. "We can probably gather a few people to help later if we need it but with a new school year and a large group of freshmen, everyone will have their hands full.

"You don't think we can handle it?" Asked Ren looking over at Cody.

"Of course, I do, to be honest, we're already better than the last class that was here. All I'm saying is everyone can use some help. Plus, it makes the job easier." Cody said leaning back.

He couldn't disagree with Cody but that had never been his style. He never asked for help at Garrison and always got the job done. He never asked for help with any beef he had from Valley Green, but he never had to because anyone from Valley Green was happy to fight anyone, not from Valley Green. He had gotten to where he was on his own and saw no need to start asking for assistance when it could possibly get in his way.

"Aight," Ren said looking back at the screen which now was back at the first hallway with the large play button in the middle.

"But we're probably going to have to make the first attempt by ourselves. We don't even know if it will happen again and we can't just keep everyone on hold until something happens. All we know for sure is that they have been consistent with making attempts on Monday mornings immediately after the first bell rings." Cody said.

"So then next Monday, we in the hallways?"

"Something like that, we will be in the camera room watching the feed. If it happens, we will either see it or it will be reported."

Ren ejected the disk and put it back inside the case file. Cody turned the tv off and slowly got to his feet before stretching and yawning. Ren put the case file in one of the bottom drawers of his cubby then gathered the books for his next two classes.

"When you leave class just meet me down in the cafeteria? We'll be down there all third period while security is patrolling. Just to get you a feel for observing heavy traffic." Said Cody heading towards the door.

"Aight."

Mrs. Rogers again had an old floral pattern dress that seemed to be her style with how confident she was with it. She gave them a textbook on classical literature to begin as it would be the topic of discussion in class on Friday. Something Ren had been prepared for by his email from Mrs. Rogers.

Mr. Phil's class seemed it would be one of his hardest classes this year. The middle-aged man moved quickly through equations as if everyone should already know it by the time they walked in his class. People kept asking each other whether they got the last one or not while others skipped whole equations just to be ready for the next one. It was a relief when Ren looked at the clock and saw it was time to leave. He packed up his belongings, said bye to his classmates and walked out with not so much as a word to Mr. Phil. Who continued his equation on the board without so much as a glance.

As students began entering the cafeteria and the lines at the restaurants began to grow. Ren and Cody began to walk the vast floor, watching, sitting, and talking with students but making sure to keep an eye out for anything. Security stood along the walls around the food court continuously watching the masses eating food. First lunch ran smoothly with no arguments or fights. The janitors cleared the tables and changed the trash bags as quickly as possible before the next bell rang.

For most of second lunch, Ren sat with a few friends from Valley Green since they were causing most of the problems. It took Ren a great deal of negotiating to stop them from starting a food fight with their fried rice and chow mein. Cody was moving around the cafeteria as usually stopping at different tables to chat with friends.

When fourth lunch came Ren could tell the difference immediately from the first three. The lines at the restaurants were stretching all the way back from the guided ropes onto the open floor. The hundreds of voices talking a yelling meshed together into a thunderous noise that made it hard for him to think. He didn't know whether to go to the line or walk the tables. There was no stillness or organization, just chaos.

"Let's begin over by the lines, it's more crowded there so let's just make sure nothing happens." Said Cody.

There was bumping and pushing almost every couple of seconds, but nothing came from them. Then from across the cafeteria, there was an uproar. Everyone turned to look in the same direction while Ren took off across the floor. Weaving through tables and passing students trying to get a glimpse at what was going on. For a split second, he saw a guy between the crowd with sandy brown hair holding his fists close to his face and moving inward.

Seconds seemed like minutes from the time that image crossed his view from when he split the crowd to see what was happening. Whatever the situation was had now been diffused by Cody and a member of security who was closer to the altercation than Ren. The other guy was walking off with Cody holding the kid with the sandy hair by the arms while talking him down. The crowd began to quickly disperse as students filled the lines next to them once more.

Ren surveyed the food court carefully while Cody finished with the guy he had just stopped from fighting. The outburst had seemed to calm the cafeteria for a while as everyone seemed to now just focus on getting their food or eating it which could have been the very opposite if they did fight.

"Ok...he's good, thanks for being lookout really quick." Said Cody approaching Ren.

"What happened?"

"Kyle, the guy I was holding was about to fight Eddie because he almost made him drop his food coming out of the line. Eddie said it was an accident and it looked like it was, but it was a hard bump and I figured something would come of it since both don't know how to shut their mouths."

Minutes had passed and everyone was sitting down eating. Cody had been sitting next to a few guys who were just as tall if not taller than him with a few girls who only missed them by a few inches. Ren joined a table with some friends from Garrison and a few of the football players on junior varsity.

"It's the weight lifting that's killing me." Said Aaron a wide receiver. "how am I supposed to catch the ball if I can't extend my arms. You would think he would take it easy on certain positions."

"You just weak." Said Byron a middle linebacker. "You gotta lift man or you gonna get bullied on the field."

"Yea but this kinda liftin gotta stop at some point." Said Elliot a quarterback. "The season is about to start so we probably won't be lifting as much from now on.

"I'm telling you, Ren, you lucked out since you didn't have to do summer workouts." Said Aaron.

"Yea but I also can't play till I'm a junior." Said Ren.

"Yea...I would probably kill myself if I had to sit out of football for two years while everyone around me got better and I stayed sorry." Said Aaron.

"Oh, foreal...I'ma remember that when I take your spot in two years."

"Stop brah I like my spot," Aaron said as everyone continued to laugh.

Ren had just happened to look up and saw a tall brown skinny male approach a table in the center of the cafeteria. He would have thought nothing of it if it wasn't for several other brown skin males following behind him at a distance. He couldn't hear what was being said but the aggressive expression on his face and rapid hand movement implied nothing good. Ren stood up and began to make his way over to the table. He looked around for Cody who he saw made eye contact with him while moving in from another side of the food court.

The table of not so scholarly looking types stood up with a blond spikey haired guy getting in the face of the guy who approached their table. Ren had turned his light jog into a full sprint now, whizzing by tables trying to reach the two before fists were thrown. Students jumped at the sudden burst of sound flying past them. The brown-skinned male shoved the blonde into his friends which created another uproar from the surrounding tables.

Right before he came back with a swing Cody and Ren converged on the spot trying to calm a situation which seemed out of their hands. Cody grabbed a hold of the brown-skinned male in front who viciously tried to shake free of him as Ren held his hand out to stop the blond kid with a piercing in his nose who could care less of what Ren had to say.

"Move the hell out my way before you get beat too!" He said.

"Chillout man you can handle this somewhere else." Ren pleaded.

His eyes moved back and forth between all the tall figures looking down on him ready to strike. There were three directly behind him with four and three on each side. Everything was happening in a rush, swearing from the group in front of him mixed with the swearing from the group behind him as Cody made a failed attempt to calm them down. Ren could see a dark-skinned male with a buzz cut moving in from the side with his fists balled up. His attempt in negotiating had failed and it seemed no other way out.

"Hey!" Roared an approaching voice which caused everyone to go silent for a moment. Even the dark-skinned male stopped as he seemed ready to strike. Danny and Ryan both stepped in between the two groups with Cody and Ren with fist balled and teeth gritted. "I believe my friend told you all to calm down. They were asking and now we're telling you; back off." Said Marcus as veins began to surface in his neck. Ren looked around and saw that security had the group surrounded and was watching at a distance to see if anything would happen.

The two were huge compared to anyone else that was standing in the middle of the floor. Ren could feel a huge figure on top of him but was used to it from Ryan. He stepped forward looking down on the guy who seemed ready a few seconds ago to hit Ren but was now backing off quickly.

"Hey, Ryan." Called one of the guys from behind him. Both him and Ren looked back not recognizing the voice. It was the brown skinned male who first started the altercation. Ren had seen face tattoos before but never so many. "I'm waiting on an answer?"

"I already told you, Gael, I've found my place. I'm gonna have to decline again." Said Ryan with a straight face.

"That's still the wrong answer." Said Gael while backing away. "I'm not gonna ask too many more times Ryan, it's either you join, or we make you join it's your choice." He finished as he turned to walk away.

Ren looked toward the end of the group at the boy still facing them and was shocked to see him. It was Antonio a friend from Garrison that he knew for the longest. He was never involved in gang activity and kept decent grades, he was more of the type who read and watched a lot of sci-fi shows and cartoons. Ren didn't know what exactly to do at the time and just nodded to him with Antonio turning his back to follow behind the others. With that, the other group fell back as well to sit back down at their table.

"Thanks for showing up when you did." Said Cody to Danny as he dapped him up.

"No problem, you know we got you if you ever need help."

"Who was that?" asked Ren.

"The group with all the tattoos that I was handling was CS a Hispanic group whose very large in size. The ones you had were Siesta Park, a neighborhood in Culliver." Said Cody.

"Yea I know Siesta Park, I'm surprised they were showing off so much. They ain't never want any work from Valley Green."

"Probably, but with the closing of Dunmar next year their whole neighborhood will be in here." Said Danny.

"And what they mean join?" asked Ren.

"They've been trying for a while now and even more this past summer. Every time I tell them no, but as you can see their getting fed up with waiting. The only thing stopping them is that none live in my neighborhood." Said Ryan.

The bell rang soon after that with Danny and Ryan leaving while Cody and Ren stayed to watch everyone leave out. He knew there had to be some people who knew and could care less about VTF, but he just wasn't expecting to run into them so quick. "Well I got this girl I gotta meet up with so I'ma catch you later." Said Cody.

# Chapter 7

### His First

The rest of the week saw a good bit of cases being solved by VTF. Eden and Larry solved their case on Thursday along with Gwen and Kim who returned a purse that was snatched in the middle of a busy hallway on Monday. Friday saw Lucas and Marcus solve an ongoing case from last year where a teacher was injured from an April fool's joke. While Lily, Angela, Kenny, and Monica together caught five students who jumped another in the bathroom. It seemed only right to end the first week with a group fight that was questionably broken up by Henry and Jessie. It's not sure if the fight stopped from them stopping it or the other's being confused about who they were fighting as the third party got involved.

Once off the bus, he had to convince Benny and the others to let him finish his homework this past week before he could hang out which they did begrudgingly. After five hours and a break in between, he was halfway through it when he got a knock on the door. When he opened the door Benny and Remi slid in without so much as a hello and made their way over to the couch to give his mom a hug.

"Hey Ms. Thompson, how you doin?" Said Benny.

"Hey Benny, what's up Remi. It's been a while, how you boys doin?" Said Ms. Thompson.

As the conversation between his friends and his mom went on, Ren headed back to his room to try and finish the worksheet he had started on. He was in the middle of one of his equations when the two of them entered his room and made their self at home. "Let's go, Ren, you can come back and finish that." Said Remi dropping down on his bed.

"You had more than enough time. It's Friday night and everybody's outside." Said Benny sitting on top of the desk.

"Let me finish this and I'll be outside all weekend."

"You got two more days to finish that!" Said Benny. "Come on."

It didn't take much convincing to get him away from homework as he soon found himself putting on some clothes and shoes to head outside. He hung out with Benny, Remi and a few others for a while until they found out everyone was down at the Valley and headed there. By the time he got in the house, it was well past two in the morning and his mom was fast asleep.

On the weekend he went to go see the junior Varsity play Deer Hurst with Ryan and Eden. Then they met up with Jessie to watch the soccer team play. The game was good but Jessie retelling the story about chasing one of the students down the hall for starting the fight was even better. Afterward, Jessie wanted to hear about him knocking the guy out in the staircase which he clarified did not happen telling them that they got a new case dealing with locker break-ins from last year. After the soccer team won Jessie went to hang with a few of her friends while the three of them went to see a movie.

On Monday, Ren once again walked in with Valley Green and split off to make his way towards the clubroom. He talked with Ryan for a little and wrestled with Jessie until making his way down to the camera room. The staircase and lobby were crowded with students killing time until the bell rang. He pressed his finger down onto the pad and went in to find Cody not there unsurprisingly.

He sat down in one of the chairs and decided to go through his QuicPic app while waiting when he received a text. It was Eden who wished him good luck this morning on his new case. He got this instant rush which he couldn't help and smiled at the message. For some reason in which he couldn't explain he began seeing Eden in a completely different way than he was used to seeing her and it all began this summer.

She had always been this redhead tomboy that he grew up with that became something like a sister to him. Now every time he was with her, he would catch himself examining her from head to toe. Watching her chest, waist, butt, and legs like they never had sleepovers when they were little. He even found himself paying attention to the dumb things she wanted to talk about like reality tv and her girlfriend dramas.

He always ignored what Benny use to say about her, but his voice seemed to be getting louder and louder now. Almost becoming a voice of reason after being one of ignorance for so long. But he couldn't do anything, that was his best friend and it would only either strain their friendship or ruin it completely.

A few minutes later Cody walked in with the bell ringing a moment later. "What's good." He said dapping up Ren before sitting down to check the cameras. "Why you ain't come to the party Saturday night that Terrence threw?"

"We planned on coming up there but Zel and them had some girls come through and decided to stay in and smoke. So, we just stayed around the way."

"And you fine with that?"

"Yea, it's aight there will be other parties."

"Yea but you will get tired of there being other parties."

"What you mean?"

"Next time just call me, and I'll pick you up."

Some dozens of bright screens with empty hallways was all they saw as their eyes switched from screen to screen. There was little movement in them except for rubbing their eyes and repositioning themselves in their seats. Every time there was a movement on a screen, they would quickly click the camera on the main screen to enlarge it only to find a student or students walking down the hall.

Ren was searching the screen when he saw four people walking down the hall in a hurry. The tallest one was wearing a black duffle bag across his shoulder with all of them wearing masks and hoods. "Look!" He said pointing but Cody was already bringing it up on the screen to make sure.

"Wing A level 2 Let go!"

They ran up the steps outside the camera room and straight down the hallway. Ren still didn't know his way through all the hallways but knew they couldn't be far away. They turned on the next hallway to continue down to the end of it stopping in the middle. For a split second everyone was still, four masks were staring them down as they stared back. Doors in the hallway were open with both teacher and students looking out of them.

"Go!" said one of the masked men.

Everyone in the hall moved on his sound. Footsteps were heard pounding down the hall as students and teachers were hit with gusts of wind as both parties came down the hall. Sneakers were heard squeaking across the floor as they turned onto the next hall. As Ren turned onto the hall, he saw that it was empty.

"Down the steps!" Cody yelled still sprinting down the hall. They jumped down the flight of steps and continued after the suspects heading for the exit. They crashed through the door like there was a bomb in the school. Blowing the door back on its hinges and slamming shut again. Cody and Ren flew through the doors right after them.

Outside was an open field of grass that led up front to the bus circle or around back to the fields. However, the three suspects were heading straight ahead to the woods that led to the nearby shopping center where everyone would go after school. Although the trees were tall and skinny the woods were thick with no site of the other side.

Cody opened his stride with Ren following suit. The slight breeze was whipping against his face as they continued to close the gap on them. The larger one out in front with the duffle bag looked back at them and the three of them stopped with the fourth continuing into the woods.

"Ren follow after him!" Yelled Cody slowing down.

Ren flew past him heading straight toward the three suspects with monkey, bear, and cat masks. He weaved to go around them to continue into the woods when one moved over in his direction with his arms wide. Ren planted his foot which slid through the grass, but he managed to keep his balance and fly past the suspect only managing to slap his arm.

He looked back for the suspect, but his back was turned on him and all three stood facing Cody who still looked as calm as ever. Ren turned and continued into the woods as the bright sun was scattered through openings in the trees. He could see the fourth suspect in black lumbering through the woods with the bookbag tight to his back as the duffle bag swung from side to side as the moved.

Ren leaped over a ditch and rustled through a few leaves on the ground when he noticed the suspect in front stop in a clearing. He continued through the trees until it opened into a wide circle with rays from the sun trickling through. Now closer to him, Ren saw that he was much larger than the other three back there with Cody. He was tall with broad shoulders that hid his neck, he wasn't fat but solid, the dog mask covered his face as he threw the duffle back to the ground and dropped the backpack.

"All this money out here Ren and you wanna go fight for the other side huh." Said the large man. "They told me you joined the VTF, but I had to see it to believe it."

Ren didn't know what to say, the guy he was chasing must have been someone he knew but there was no way of knowing who. He knew a lot of people and that number was tenfold when you talk acquaintances. The voice wasn't even recognizable, so he knew it wasn't someone close.

"So wassup! We gonna do this or what?" Said the man throwing up his hands and quickly approaching Ren.

"Of course." Said Ren who stepped in and immediately evaded a wild right hook and countered with three quick jabs before stepping out. The man turned and rushed him before squaring up once more. Ren's heart was pumping as fast as ever but his head was calm. He weaved two more punches before returning four of his own. The two stood toe to toe in the middle of the opening trading punches with Ren being the only one connecting but the large man continued to move with ease.

Ren backed off watching the man in an attempt to find a weakness, he had worked the ribs and chest, but nothing seemed to do damage. Even jabs to the face didn't stop his pursuit. This was not the first time he fought someone twice his size, but it was the first time someone ate all his punches.

The time for strategizing had come and gone as the man rushed in again. This time the rush did not stop. Ren tried to step out the way, but the man managed to grab his shirt. The force of the pull jerked his head the other way causing him to stumble back into another hook aimed for his head. He curled in taking the blow to his shoulder and immediately his ear popped.

In the split second, it took to close his eyes and open them again, another swing was coming. This time rocking his body, then another toward his face. He evaded the next swing but the strength in the legs were fading. He tugged and flailed like a beast trying to escape a well-planted trap, but the man's grip was so strong that you could hear the thread tearing from his shirt.

The suspect swung again in fury trying to pull Ren back into the swing when Ren ducked it, planted his feet surely in soft dirt and threw two strong hooks that rocked the man's jaw. His knee buckled as one hit the ground but quickly came back in the air. Ren began throwing everything he could towards his jaw as the man held on tight to his shirt with one hand and guarded his face with the other arm. Ren gritted his teeth as he tried his hardest to finish the fight, but every punch was either blocked by his arm, or slide off the side.

"Ahhh!" Yelled the man as he finally dropped his hand from his face and pulled Ren in with both arms. Ren felt his feet slip from under him as he was driven backward with both arms locked in place. There was a loud thud and the next thing Ren felt was a searing pain in his back as every bit of air left his body. He dropped from the tree to the ground face first gasping for air as there seemed to be none surrounding him.

He could hear rapid cursing as he tried to look up to see where the bag was as he saw a blurry figure walking slowly towards both bags. He picked up both bags slowly and started forward again through the forest before looking back once more before continuing through the woods. Ren rolled over onto his back still gasping for air.

About a minute had passed and he was now on one knee with his head down in his chest heaving heavily. His collar was completely ripped with his sleeve hanging off his shoulder. He began to hear footsteps approaching fast and jumped to his feet as quick as possible to see who it was. Cody came out into the clearing and looked at Ren with wide eyes.

"You alright?" He said looking him up and down.

"Yea...I'm good." Said Ren avoiding his stare.

"Is he up ahead?"

"No."

"Ok...Let's get back to the club room and get you taken care of."

The walk was long and painful, but Cody talked the whole way there. Telling him how he dropped one of them and the other two just danced around him. When he finally got another one down, he took off into the woods after him but had taken too long dealing with those three. Ren had wished he would just be quiet but then thought of a long silent trip that seemed much worse. A walk through the halls that gave Ren all the time to process what just happened then a climb up the steps that made him feel what just happened.

They walked in the club room breathing easy, but their appearance told a different story. "Oh my god!" Said Kim as she rushed over to Ren.

He didn't hear so much as a word until he saw her curvy body and felt her warm hands touch his face. "Are you ok?" She said feeling all over his head and shoulders to check for any bruises. His heart began to race with her being this close to him.

"I'm fine," He said pulling away."

He didn't think he could become more embarrassed until looking up past Kim and seeing Gwen standing there in complete shock. She was frozen in place with her large hazel eyes resting solely on Ren. He didn't maintain eye contact as he headed straight for his cubby. A wave of emotions had now washed over him, and he didn't know how to act. His world and mind were like a tornado and nothing he did could calm this storm.

"What the hell happened!?" Yelled Kim turning back at Cody. "Why does he look like that!?"

Cody began explaining to Kim what happened while Ren was stuck in his own world at his cubby. He sat down for what seemed like a long time, but his hands were shaking so much that he felt the need to put them somewhere. He stood up and began moving things around in his locker just to keep his hands busy.

"Ren... are you ok?" Said Lily. He immediately recognized the soft and deep concerned voice as her.

"I'm fine."

"What happened?" Said Kenny very cautiously.

"I lost."

"Well there's always next time, right?" said Lily just as cautious as Kenny.

"Yea I guess."

Every question they asked he felt a twitch run up his back as he gritted his teeth before speaking. With each question, there was a buildup of emotions which caused him to pause before answering. The only way he knew how to deal with them now was to answer and move on. He began violently stuffing items into his bag, forcing them into spaces that were not there.

"Uhm... Ren?" Said Gwen. He froze for a moment as his heart dropped again for who knows how many times.

"Yea." He said coldly with his dirt-stained torn white shirt to their back.

"you...ok?"

"Yea."

"H...Here's an extra shirt." She said as her voice chopped.

He turned and stared directly at the shirt gripped by her turquoise nail polish as he could feel everyone staring at him. He slowly extended his arm and took the shirt fighting back this rapid jerking intent he felt then turned back around.

He could now hear Cody still explaining the events that had just taken place to Kim as they approached the group. "I took too long dealing with the others in the open field and by the time I arrived we had lost the fourth suspect," Cody said.

"I lost him." Said Ren.

"We lost him." Said Cody. "If..."

"No! I did!" Ren said zipping up his bag. "I got beat simple as that!"

"Ren it's not your fault." Said Kim. Ren could feel the sympathy in her eyes which made it all the worst. He felt the water rushing to his eyes and was fighting the urge as long as he could.

"Yea it's ok to..."

"I need to get to class." Said Ren sliding pass the group and heading out the door.

# Chapter 8

### Occupied or Something Else

He couldn't stop shaking as he walked down the hall to find the nearest bathroom. There was a rage inside of him that he felt he couldn't hold anymore. Like vomit that couldn't help but come up. He found himself in front of a mirror with his throbbing hands gripping the sink as water ran down the drain. He looked up in the mirror and saw a scrape on his face and a hair full of dirt as his eyes began to water. Without a thought, he slammed his fist into the mirror and shattered it. Blood seeped from a cut in between his index and middle finger that made him even more furious. With his other hand, he dented the nearest stall before sitting down on the floor against the back wall. Blood dripped on the ground as his hands shook from the mixed emotions that spun inside him. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around his bloody hand as he stayed on the ground for a few more minutes. He slowly got to his feet and put on the new shirt and left the bathroom.

In first and second period he sat in the back of the class unnoticed. It was easy to do since everyone seemed to tell he didn't want to be bothered. During lunch, he sat in the class for half an hour with his headphones in and he continued to fourth period with the same attitude. He began receiving messages from Eden and Ryan who seemed to be worried, but he simply ignored them.

He left early for dismissal to get out to the buses early before anyone else could and took the side door out to avoid any members seeing him walking through the lobby. The bus ride home was an odd one for him, his headphones were blasting in his ear, but he could barely hear a word of it as he watched the cars pass on the road. Friends kept asking if he was alright, but he just nodded them off and continued staring out the window.

He waited for everyone to get off the bus before he decided to move, passed by a praying bus driver then took the long way around the neighborhood to his house. He threw his bag down in the corner and laid down on his bed stuck in thought. He couldn't think of anything else but that fight for what he thought was hours, then suddenly, he woke up.

His room was almost pitch black with a piece of the moon shining through his window. He ruffled through his sheets for his phone and found he had fifteen missed calls and twenty-five new messages. He scrolled down his call logs and saw a lot of them belonged to Eden and Ryan, then scrolled down his messages and saw they were from them but also people in the neighborhood telling him to come outside.

He felt trapped being inside now, not just physically but mentally. He could hear the tv playing in the living room and changed out his uniform before leaving out. The hallway was bright with the sound of something cooking on the stove. A tall slender woman with a head wrap and afro stood over a stove while trying to watch the tv from in the kitchen.

"Hey, mom." Said Ren still looking disoriented.

"Hey babe, how you doin?"

"Good...I'll be back in a little while."

"Wait!" She said walking over to him. "Are you ok?"

"Yea."

"Eden called me and told me what happened, she said she's been trying to reach you all day." She said checking him for marks as he hid his hand behind his back. "Call her back just to let her know you're fine."

Ren could feel everything bubbling back up once more. He couldn't erase what happened from his mind but at least it could just stay there. Making it physical made it somewhat more realistic and annoying which he didn't want at the time.

"I'll talk to her later." He said turning to leave out.

"Well don't be out too long dinner is almost ready." She said walking back to the kitchen.

From the second he opened the door he could hear yelling, laughing, and swearing coming from downstairs. He got to the exit of his building and found a group of older men huddled around the steps. He dapped them up and kept it moving down the sidewalk while putting his headphones in.

He walked through the alleyway where trash and debris filled his path and came onto the sidewalk where he could see the dark buildings on the other side of the neighborhood. As he approached the fence he looked left and right at the bluish sparkling grass with glistening black water that seemed to stretch for miles. He leaped the fence and took a seat in the grass just above the steady stream.

Looking up into the night sky at a beautiful white moon that hovered over him, seemed to put him at ease. He could feel his shoulder begin to loosen as he laid back in the grass and investigated the night sky. He had felt like this just seconds before Cody arrived at the camera room and in just a few minutes his whole day was gone.

Losing that fight just didn't make any sense to him, he had fought more than one person at a time. He had even fought people who were twice his size and beat them with ease. Whether they were boy, girl, big, small, strong, or fast it made no difference in the outcome but for some reason, he lost. In a one on one fight with a guy who could barely touch him in the first place.

He lost in a one on one while Cody took on three while still making it into the woods after him. Then he shot up out the grass staring into the buildings that sat on the other side of the valley. The guys that went to grab him didn't even try that hard to catch him. After he ran off inside the woods, they completely forgot about him and made Cody their focus.

_Their focus was Cody_ he thought. It was an infuriating and depressing realization. He didn't know whether to bang the ground with his fists or curl up on it. He didn't move for a while sitting there staring at the stream watching the moon dance in its reflection.

Suddenly he felt someone approaching and looked back to find Zel coming down the hill to find a spot next to him. He sat down with a joint held between his lips and a lighter in one hand. He dapped Zel up who lite the joint and puffed a few times before holding it out in front of Ren's face who nodded and turned his head.

"You sure?"

"You know I don't smoke."

"Yea, but the way you lookin, look like you need to start."

Ren said nothing and continued to look at the stream.

"You know I've always found that cool about you. You grew up around all this and still found a way to live your life how you want to live it." Zel said. "So, what's good, I ain't seen you all day and you ain't say nothing to anyone on the bus home, so what happened?"

Ren sat still for a few seconds thinking of what exactly to say. He had just lost his first fight ever; he was now categorized with the same guys that he knocked out or seen get knocked out. It didn't help that he never had known Zel to lose a fight either.

"Brah?" Said Zel holding out the joint again.

"I lost."

Zel put his hand down quickly and looked at Ren with a side eye. "That's why you in your feelings." He said inhaling once more.

"Nothing I did worked, and it only took him a few hits," Ren said still staring at the dancing moon.

"Man do you know how many times I lost before I even got to middle school." Said Zel looking over at Ren. Ren finally looked away from the stream at Zel with wide eyes.

"I got crushed a couple times, I mean not even close. See you had me to teach you how to fight but I ain't have no one to show me how to fight. I learned on my own before I started doing MMA Zel explained, now mesmerized by the reflecting moon. "You remember a couple years ago when everyone was talking about the fight between me and Greg?"

"Yea, everyone said it was the best fight they ever seen. They said you crushed him."

"Bias opinions, people on his side say he won and people on our side say I won. I felt in no way like I won that fight, but I took from the experience and learned how to become a better fighter. The same with all the other loses I took through the years." He said finally looking up at Ren. "Your gonna lose, you can't stop that everyone does at some point. But let it change you for the better, not the worst. Learn from your mistakes and grow from them.

Ren didn't take his eyes off Zel until he looked over at him. It was something that he thought he would never hear but was glad that he heard it. The person who he thought couldn't be defeated had already been defeated. Numerous times at that and still had the respect and fear of everyone around him. While he sat here sulking over his first loss.

"I gotta get in the house. Mom is proly done with dinner by now." Said Ren as he got up. Zel got up as well, inhaling once more. "But thanks brah, I appreciate the advice. You always lookout no matter what." He said dapping him up.

"You already know." Said Zel.

"When your next fight anyway, I feel like you ain't had a match in a minute."

"I haven't, I still been training but we been tryna get this big match for a while now. I'm tired of beatin on these scrubs for chump change you feel me."

The next day he woke up and could barely pick himself up out the bed. Everything seemed to be sore, but his back felt like he had slept on jagged rocks last night. It took him 10 whole minutes of agonizing stretches just for him to bend down and touch his toes.

When he got to the club room that morning, he caught an earful from Eden about ignoring her texts and phone calls. It was something he knew was coming but still didn't want to deal with it. He apologized to her with smiles and continued with the conversation as best as possible but only remained in the club room for no more than a couple minutes giving no one else any real time to talk to him. His excuse became even more valid with a text from Cody asking him to meet in the camera room.

When Ren walked into the dimly lit room Cody was already sitting down watching the footage from one of the cameras. A blank hallway with not so much as a student standing in it filled the screen. But Cody's hand was steady on the mouse clicking the fast-forward button and clicking play again.

"What's good." Said Ren plopping down into the next seat.

"What's good." Said Cody, squinting at the monitor as his eyes moved furiously across its screen. "How you feel?" He asked.

"Sore." Said Ren shortly.

"Figures." Said Cody pausing the video and sliding back from the monitor for a moment. "I've been thinking ever since I got home last night about something which is why I called you here. They came in here with a black duffle bag, a black bookbag and wearing the school uniform. It's not like they would have stayed in the school overnight, so they had to come in the morning with everyone else. On top of that, they would have either been in someone's class or hiding somewhere in the building. If we can trace back where they broke in the locker to where they came from, we can be better prepared for next time. It's Even possible that maybe after seeing where they hid at that we can identify them from when they first entered their hiding spot."

It made so much sense that Ren was kind of upset that he didn't come across that last night when he was stuck in thought. He had let one set back cloud his mind from the rest of the case when it was far from over.

"So right now, you're looking to see where exactly they came from right?" He said sliding in closer to the screen.

"Yea. I've only been in here for about five minutes but it's taking a while to get to them. It should be coming up soon though, I've just been trying not to pass it."

In no time the bell seemed to ring, and Cody left Ren to search the footage without him. He had a test that he didn't feel like taking but more so didn't want to have to make it up. Ren had eventually found the footage they had seen live yesterday with four individuals coming down the hallway with hoods and animals' masks.

He was excited to have found it but now had a tougher task ahead of him, them disappearing out of the screen. He had to find the next camera they were on at the same time lapse where they came from. The biggest problem was that he didn't yet know all the camera names and the locations they were in. He knew that they were in Wing A of the building on level two but there were about ten different cameras for that Wing and level alone.

He first scrolled through the cameras to see if any other cameras resembled the same hallway as the previous. Not surprisingly, every hallway resembled the previous hallway. Camera by camera he clicked through them fast forwarding to the time of the incident from the last camera and searched for four suspects. On the eighth attempt, he found them coming out of the men's bathroom with the duffle bag and bookbag.

Ren grew with excitement; Cody had gotten everything right from them already being inside the building to them hiding somewhere until it was time to move. Now it was possible that maybe when they first went into the bathroom to blend in, they didn't have their masks on. That it's possible all four went in with masks and hoods off with their faces exposed.

From the time that the hallways began to clear to when the first students arrived in the building, there was a large time gap. About a fifty-minute time gap that saw hundreds of students going in and out of bathrooms. Every little thing made this so much longer than it was to find them. The hundreds of kids going in and out this one bathroom, the students going in and out in groups, and even other students being blocked from camera view by other students. For all he knew they could have crawled in.

Pausing, rewinding, slow motion, slow motion rewinding; It seemed twenty minutes had already passed, and Ren had only identified seven individuals that were not the suspects. After another thirty minutes he had seen a few groups of students walk in and out of the bathroom, but none were carrying a duffle bag.

The search seemed to go nowhere but it was important to know how exactly they got in. If possible, know who they are; He continued looking through the sea of students occupying the hall until he received a text from Kim in a group message with Cody. _You have been assigned a new case, come to the clubroom immediately._

They were in and out of the club room in minutes with the case being a stolen phone that occurred early this morning on Wing C before classes even began. Again, they were back in the camera room but this time in a whole different Wing on a completely different floor.

"Did you find anything on our suspects yet?" asked Cody.

"Na... It's so crowded man, do you know how many people go in and out of the bathroom just in the morning." Said Ren.

"I can only imagine but at least you found where they were hiding. If we don't find out who they are we at least know where they are. Next time around we can start here and watch the cameras for them before making our move." Said Cody. "There... look."

Ren scooted closer to the screen and saw in a crowd of people, a girl that never saw her phone drop and a guy who acted too quick for anyone to notice. Cody knew who it was from the large pointed nose and spikey jet-black hair. It was maybe five minutes before the end of second period when they stepped back in the club room to brief Kim on the case.

After eating lunch, Ren went straight back to the camera room while Cody began asking a few friends if they knew anything about the locker break-ins. The whole fourth period he searched the cameras and found nothing that resembled four men going into the bathroom. He saw duffle bags, he saw hoodies, he even saw groups of three but none that were all four. He left Tuesday afternoon with so much on his mind he didn't even see any members later nor talk to anyone on the bus.

When he came into the club room on Wednesday, he was ready for a full day in the camera room finishing the whole tape and going back over it again if need be. "Good morning." Said Eden sitting next to him in her cubby. With a late response, he replied and continued to put his things away. "You ok?" asked Eden.

"Yea I just gotta get somewhere to work on this case you know." He said walking off toward the door. "I'll talk to you later."

"Y...Yea... ok." She said slowly.

He was very busy but if it was one person, he didn't want taking pity on him it was her. There were already enough upperclassmen asking if he was alright and he knew the other freshmen would probably be asking as well. As if he needed taking care of or was lesser than his peers when he knew that none of them couldn't see him in a one on one fight. The only person he knew he didn't have to worry about asking him anything was Reggie.

First and second period was spent in the camera room watching the tape. He had finally got through to when the bell rang, and everyone cleared the hallway but saw no sign of a group of four hooded individuals walking into the bathroom. He started the tape over and watched again, even more, careful than the last time. However, almost midway through Henry and Jessie came in.

"What's up Ren." Said Henry with his chin held high. "Looking for the guy who beat you up I guess."

"Shut up!" Said Jessie quickly violently shoving Henry out the way. "We need the camera room to check on a drug deal a student saw in the hallway late yesterday." She said softly. Her head was slightly tilted downwards but her blue eyes were staring directly into his.

"Uh... yea sure." He said quickly getting up out his seat and making his way to the door.

"Thanks." She said as he passed by.

"Don't worry Ren I've got my ass kicked plenty of times, you'll bounce back." Said Henry as the door closed behind them.

Not a few minutes after he left the camera room, he received a text from Eden. _Meet me in the club room for second lunch._ With a serious emoji put on the end. Ren didn't even bother arguing and just replied with ok.

Kenny, Lucas, Lily, Ryan, Amy, and Eden were sitting on one of the couches eating their lunch and watching tv. Ren hesitated for a moment as he stood with the door open before Kenny noticed him and brought it to everyone's attention that he was there. He made his way over to the couch and sat down on the end next to Eden who handed him a bag from down in the food court.

"Thanks." He said. She knew him so well that he even cracked a smiled as he saw the bacon cheeseburger with special sauce in the bag with extra fries.

"Ren how did you guys solve your first case?" asked Kenny. "We just got a case about a cell phone that got stolen out of a classroom. But the victim doesn't really know who could have done it."

"We asked who they were sitting around. If they don't know who exactly could have done it, then it's most likely someone that was close by." Said Ren.

"Yea don't be afraid to start asking around. There's always someone who saw something or is a horrible liar." Said Eden. "that's how we solved our first case."

"Same here." Said Lucas. "But now we're trying to find these serial pranksters who have been terrorizing people all over the school. There hitting individuals or small groups which is making it much harder to track and from what we have learned so far it's at least ten of them."

"Jeez." Said Kenny.

"Yea, me and Timothy are tracking a hacker who has been hacking student email accounts since last Wednesday." Said Amy snacking on chips. "I mean fast isn't the word, while I'm still trying to block him Tim has already blocked him and put up a new firewall while trying to trace him back, but the guy is in and out."

"Everything you just said was confusing to me." Said Ryan as everyone laughed.

Ren was too busy eating to catch most of the conversation. He couldn't stop thinking about four guys that he saw walk in with a duffle bag. He saw a tall black guy among the four with two of their hoods being on but knew for a fact that the guy he fought was a white male.

"Have you found who the hooded guys are?" asked Eden. "Cody told me what you have been doing."

"Oh... no, not yet. It's a lot of people to look through but I have some leads." He said to ease concern.

"Well let me know if you need any help."

"aight cool."

On Thursday Cody caught up with a friend named Angelo who another person had told him knew about the locker break-ins. He texted another friend of his who said he had just seen Angelo outside in the woods on the backside of the school. Cody made the walk through the building out past the practice fields, the track field, baseball, softball, and football stadium to the tall trees that towered over the stadium.

There were small groups of people throughout the woods. Smoking, drinking, hanging out and others displaying affection that would not be accepted while in public. He was received with looks of shock and some even running up to say what's up. After looking and passing six groups he finally found Angelo sitting near a large Oak tree with five other people. When Angelo noticed him, he stood and made his way over to him with open arms.

"What's up Cody!" He said.

"What's up Angelo!" He said dapping him up. Angelo was also a junior but much shorter than Cody which was not saying much. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he seemed to always be in something in and outside of school. Stealing, hustling, drug dealing; anything to make a profit it seemed. He was a loud, impulsive kid who rarely kept the same hair color. This time around his hair color was green.

"It's been a minute since you been out here, but I hear you lookin for me so what's up."

"Yea they were tellin me you had the hook up with the games and it's a certain one I'm tryna get." Said Cody moving to walk deeper through the woods. Angelo took his cue and followed away from the rest of the group and others surrounding them. He talked with him a while about this new game that was just released and how much he could get it to him for until they were away from everyone.

"So, what you really need man, it must be something serious for you to catch me out here." Said Angelo quickly changing the subject.

"Yea... I actually wanted to talk to you about these locker break-ins." Said Cody still talking relatively low. "I heard you knew something about them."

"Huh." Angelo exhaled deeply and investigated the trees while continuing along their slow pace. He looked at Cody for a couple of seconds with a smile on his face before speaking again. "Look... I don't know who it is that is doing it, but I think I know someone who knows them."

"Who?"

"Aight, so I occasionally visit Extravagant Pawning to trade a few things in every now and then or look at what they have."

"Of course."

"Well... last year over the summer I was in there trading something in and started joking around with Ronald and the guys in the shop. I was sayin I had to be their best client because I stay bringin new items in. That's when Ronald was sayin I was up there, but someone recently was giving me a run for my money. He said this huge guy with sandy brown hair and a tattoo under his left eye had come in a few times over the past couple months and was bringing in some expensive items. Jewelry mostly but very expensive with a few other guys.

So, I'm interested and wanna know who my competition is, and he said he had not seen him in a while, but he would always come in early on a Monday. But here's the thing, they were all always dressed in a school uniform; Valdigan uniform black or dark-colored hoodies but Khaki pants. And I made the connection, so those were the guys breaking into lockers last year and that was the end of it. Then I heard about the latest one on Monday, so if you go to the pawn shop and talk to Ronald, I'm sure he can tell you more. Other than that, all I told you was Ima try and get you this game for half price." Angelo finished.

"Cool." Said Cody as he dapped him once more and made his way back to the school.

Ren spent most of his Thursday in the camera room only leaving briefly to get food and take breaks between staring at the screen. He rarely saw anyone from VTF and wanted to keep it that way. His focus was this case and getting involved in their discussions would only throw him off.

It was on Friday when he was again in the camera room when he had a realization that maybe not all criteria had to match up. He saw a large male walk into the bathroom with a hood on his head by himself as others continued to go in and out. However, he never came back out of the bathroom as another male entered with a black duffle bag that also never came back out. Within five minutes two more individuals with hoods on entered the same bathroom and stayed in there as others continued to poor in and out.

He had finally found them, he sat back in the chair with his mouth wide open watching as everyone moved about the hall without a clue. It took him this long to notice something that now seemed so obvious. However, he couldn't help but think about how long it would have taken if he was in the club room.

He met up with Cody to share with him what he found on the camera and Cody told him about what he learned through his connects. He said he had gone to go talk to the Pawn dealer after school on Thursday, but the others said he would be gone all next week until the following Monday.

"On Monday we need to pay close attention to all cameras for the same kind of movements that show bathrooms and make a move if it happens. Then we'll go talk to Ronald about his current client to find out who exactly we are dealing with. If they make a move Monday, we'll be ready."

Throughout the weekend Ren watched both the football and soccer junior varsity's win with Eden, Ryan, and Jessie. The soreness in his back was gone which made deep breaths and laughter much more easing. Then on Sunday, it was nothing but homework since he completely skipped the rest of school after what happened on Monday.

On Monday Morning Ren went straight to the camera room and met Cody who had already been surfing through the cameras since everyone started arriving in the building. "What's up Ren." Said Cody as he continued to switch back and forth between monitors. He sat back in his chair almost frozen as his eyes were the only thing constantly moving.

"What's good." Said Ren not even trying to give him dap. He sat down right next to Cody and began watching the students move throughout the halls. Watching for anyone with a hood on or duffle bag that went into any bathroom and stayed. At the beginning of first period, they didn't spot one person that stayed in the bathroom after entering and by the end of the first period, everything was quiet. It was decided that they would go to Extravagant Pawning to talk with Ronald about the suspect and hope that there was not any attempt before that.

During second lunch Ren had gone down to the cafeteria with a group of friends from class to grab something to eat. By the time they had arrived the cafeteria was packed with the lines filled with students. They paused at one of the entrances trying to determine which line to enter when a familiar voice called his name. She was with a group of girls, but the bright red hair had always set her apart from everyone else.

"On Saturday we're all going to Anonymous, ok." Said Eden ever so confidently. It was a new gaming restaurant in town that had just opened and was always busy. It seemed like if there wasn't a party to go to Anonymous was the next best thing and seeing that it didn't close until two in the morning made it the best spot on the weekends.

"I can't man...I'm busy." Said Ren and with it, erased any expression of joy from Eden's face. Her lips curled and eyebrows began to wrinkle.

"Why?" she asked immediately.

"I have some things I gotta take care of."

"Like what?" she asked immediately.

"Things man I'm just busy." She rolled her eyes and began to walk off, but Ren grabbed her arm before she could move away too far. "What's wrong with you?"

"You! That's what's wrong with me. You've been acting different lately like you don't wanna hang out with nobody." She said. "You stopped coming in the lounge as much, you can't answer your phone, you turned down Kenny and Lily who asked for help with their case and now you don't wanna go to Anonymous. A place that you already said you wanted to go when it opened in the summer.

Ren looked over her head at the rambunctious tables that filled the cafeteria as she stared intensely at him. "Man, I've just been working on this case stop acting like I'm avoiding everyone." He said.

"You are! So, stop acting like it's something else." Her face was no longer pale as her cheeks began to turn red. "So, since it's about your case, the weekend shouldn't be a problem, so you better show up." She said as she turned away once more, and this time Ren did not stop her. Ren had seen her mad many times before, but her attitudes were rarely directed towards him.

There were no problems from anyone for the rest of the day. It would have been considered a great day if it had not been thrown off by Eden. Ren was more focused on why she was so mad that everything else for him was thrown to the side. He was packing up his things later that day when he found that it just wasn't Eden who was trying to get him to go.

"I heard your ditchin us to work on your case on a Saturday Night?" Said Ryan as he grabbed his duffle bag from his locker.

"Stop playin it ain't like that I just want to find the guys who keep crackin open these lockers." Said Ren as he hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder.

"Man, it's Saturday night, that ain't no excuse. You can come out for a few hours and go back to your work right after. Since it's so much work that needs to be done outside of school."

Ren sucked his teeth as he walked out the door with Ryan. Everything that needed to be done had already been done. The only thing he was waiting to do now was to go with Cody to talk to the Pawn Dealer on Monday to get more leads. There was nothing stopping him from going out on Saturday but wanting to go was a different story.

"I'll see." He said as they went down the steps surrounded by students.

The questions continued throughout the week about whether he will attend or not. First came Kenny who went with the asking without asking approach. Giving a full rundown of everything there is to do from the 12-lane bowling alley to the one hundred different arcade and table games they had while even talking about the restaurants there. It was interesting but didn't sway his decision in the least bit.

Then came Lily whose nice and sincere attitude probably had the most effect on him than anyone else. Her petite figure and those big dark brown eyes had made it hard enough to tell her to get lost but getting hit with the "we really would love it if you came" line made it hard to say no. Instead, he settled with I might.

By the middle of the week, it seemed that someone finally convinced Lucas to shoot his shot lackadaisically. "Hey look, man, you should really come out with us on Saturday." He said while they were in line getting lunch one day. Then continued with whatever they had been talking about before.

However, there was someone whose wrath he did not want to deal with more than anyone else that he completely forgot about. He was reminded of her towards the end of the week when she caught him in the hallway. He felt a strong tug on his arm and saw a blonde mane with a bun on top accompanied with bright blue eyes that stared back into his. Jessie was so close that he retreated until he was against the lockers which didn't stop her pursuit.

"Why are you skipping Anonymous?" she said through gritted teeth.

His face had bunched up before slightly relaxing to answer. "I never said I wasn't going."

"But you never said you were." She quickly responded.

"I might alright!" He said raising his voice.

"Might ain't yes!" She said adding volume to her voice as well. The argument had now drawn in attention from students at surrounding lockers or that were in route to their classes. "Everybody else is cool and all but... you have to go alright!" She said pushing her finger into his chest.

"Ok, I get it." He said reluctantly as he looked everywhere else except at her.

# Chapter 9

### It's Not Just Me

The place was enormous with a parking lot that saw no open spot from front to back. Someone new to this town or just who never heard of the place before would have thought it was a warehouse from the design of the building. It had no unique build, sleek design or crafty angles. There were not even any windows, it was a large block with a rectangular shape made from nothing but regular bricks with a red neon sign that read Anonymous.

Ren said goodbye to his mom and made his way inside the building. As soon as he opened the door he was hit with screams of enjoyment and machines ringing throughout the place. Kids of all ages ran pass him oblivious to the fact that he even existed. From the inside, it looked like a casino, with the slots being replaced by arcades and the table games by air hockey and pool tables. The lights were dimly lit that covered a high ceiling from wall to wall. The place was the size of an indoor arena and on each end was a restaurant that could be seen from the other side.

Lucky for Ren he came in on the right side as Eden told him they would all meet at Dog's Buffett. He entered a restaurant that had seemed to reach its capacity a long time ago as it was hard to just get past seated tables. If there was an empty seat anywhere one could only assume it's because they were a part of the group huddled in the middle of the restaurant at the buffet tables.

The carpet was a checkered red and black with several different sized tables for the many different sized parties. The second level was a balcony that could be seen from the first floor from in the restaurant and outside on the gaming floor. Red square shaped chandeliers hung from below the second level to add extra lighting to the dimly lit building to probably help with traffic control through the busy floor filled with children, teens, and stressed out adults.

Ren continued to the back of the restaurant, sliding behind chairs filled with kids and parents. Slipping past tables filled with food that took you around the world and back. He searched the red and black-clothed tables for his friends as he neared the back of the restaurant. When he heard his name yelled from the corner of the room. He looked over and saw all his classmates sitting down at a large corner table and immediately got up as soon as he began to make his way over there. The first person to him was Eden who gave him a big hug and grabbed him by the arm.

Seafood, Mexican, Italian, Asian, pizza, breakfast, and dessert. The Buffett was crowded with customers picking over scraps as the employees rushed to change out empty pans for fresh ones. Many of them stacked as much as they could on one plate, then there were people like Ryan who went back for another.

The booth could fit the 10 of them easily with room to spare. It was a large crescent-shaped corner booth with a table that was covered in food.

"It's good to get out and relax." Said Lily. "I've been so stressed with this case."

"You're not the only one." Said Lucas who everyone looked at surprisingly. "It's not really the case that's the problem but so much as keeping up with Marcus. Just when I think I'm catching up he's pulling away again."

"Yea I didn't realize how little I knew until I teamed up with Larry." Said Eden.

"For me, it's not like I can't do the work, but Gregg is a whole different monster. It doesn't help that we from the same hood neither. I be getting pressed out immediately when I slip up." Said Reggie whose limbs seemed to hang and stretch all over the booth.

"Well we are first years and they all are much more experienced than us. It's not surprising to feel left behind especially in a school like Valdigan. "Said Gwen.

"Wow...sorry I didn't expect that to come from the princess herself. "Said Jessie taking a bite out of her pepperoni pizza.

"I'm a freshman like everyone else here but I'm also the partner of the most powerful person in the school. "Replied Gwen covering her mouth. "As of now we all still have a lot to learn from partners who are far more skilled than us and have more experience in the largest school in the nation."

"That's true." Added Lily.

"Yea but it just seemed so much easier in middle school when I wasn't expecting the jump to be this high, I guess." Added Kenny which everyone seemed to agree with.

"I think everyone here had solved at least one case but only Gwen, Ren, and Lucas have two cases solved. I was expecting to have more than just one but it's harder than I thought to get valid information and leads in a school that is so large." Said Lily which saw no disagreement.

"Even with that I was given this case with the team of pranksters on the fourth day of school and the leads keep taking us to a dead end. I have to find some way to get more information." Said Lucas.

Ren still had not said anything since he sat down with his food and continued stuffing his face with shrimp. As everyone else continued to eat as well. He couldn't help but feel so selfish as to how he had been acting lately. Everyone seemed to be struggling as well but he had seemingly cut off all his friends due to one set back while they were having the same as well. In his case, it wasn't the feeling of falling behind his partner or not knowing how to move throughout the school. It was one fight in a case where they had gotten further than anyone else before them. Whereas, his friends were having more serious problems like finding leads or solving a case period.

"And the cases just seem to keep piling on. Whether you solve them or not they keep coming. We have two right now, but Danny is also working another one on his own." Said Ryan stopping to drink some of his soda as everyone agrees once more.

"And it's just the end of the third week." Said Kenny. "I feel like I've been here a whole year."

"Yea but don't worry the first few weeks are always busy. In the first month, it's about thirty cases a week which is why we're so busy now." Said Amy whose dessert plate was much more crowded than the main plate. It will drop to around ten a week after that. We just have to stay on top of them until then. But there also seems to be more involved in the case as the year progresses as well."

"Meaning that we will have to speed up the time it takes to solve one." Added Gwen.

"Which would be much easier if there was more help on these cases. We all have different skills that others don't have." Said Eden. "If we could just assist each other on some of these cases I'm pretty sure we would run through them in no time."

"Why can't we?" said Ren. Everyone at the table looked at him and then around at each other and had no answer.

"Uhm... I don't know, can we?" asked Kenny looking around for answers.

"I Don't see why not." Said Ryan.

"There were never any rules that said we can't help each other with cases. I'm pretty sure as long as it's nothing illegal we can do whatever we want to solve the case." Said Ren.

"That's true I never thought to do it, but it makes a lot of sense. I heard the upperclassmen sometimes help each other on larger more complicated cases but why can't we just do that for any case in which we need assistance." Lucas said.

"Then let's start now, let's help each other with any case where assistance is needed." Said Lily covering her mouth. All were in agreeance immediately as if they were about to win a million dollars. They continued to talk until the last person was done with their meal and had the check split up ten different ways for a bill which made it a bit of a problem for the waitress.

The rest of the night was spent running rampant through Anonymous on a quest to see who could get the most tickets. Reggie and Gwen dominated the basketball cage game, Ren killed the football toss and punching machine, and Lucas seemed to get a perfect score every time they played the trivia game. However, the most shocking outcome of the night was that Lily and Amy killed everyone in all the arcade games. On top of it, no one could beat Lily in skee ball or air hockey. The night ended with Jessie trying to haggle the cashier down a couple of hundred tickets so she could get this huge stuffed wolf.

They left Anonymous a little after eleven to catch their rides outside. The place was still just as loud and active as when they first got there, but it was now adults running around the place looking like kids instead of actual kids. Most of the restaurants had empty seats but the bar was so crowded that you could barely see through to the bartender.

By the time it was half past eleven, Eden's ride had pulled up and the only two left sitting outside was Ren and Gwen. First, it was Eden who offered them both a ride and then her mother who offered twice with both declining. The night was warm, and the streets were quiet. The parking lot was still packed to the back with cars as the only noise was a low muffle of music being blasted from inside. But it was faint, too low to be any distraction. The light in the parking lot had no effect on the stars which glowed brilliantly in the night sky. Gwen sat on the curb with her legs crossed while Ren laid there on his back looking up at the sky.

"To think that you have solved the same amount of cases as me is troubling. I must be doing something wrong." Said Gwen looking into the sky as well.

"Or maybe you're just getting lucky. Don't worry I'll make sure to open the gap in no time." Said Ren.

He looked at her as she rolled her eyes off him and looked back into the sky. "Well,...at least your back to your old self. You've been acting very standoffish from everyone lately." She said.

"I know, I just have had a lot on my mind."

"Did it have anything to do with the fight?"

There was a pause in him for a moment as she waited for a response. "Yea..." he said exhaling heavily. "I've never lost a fight in my life so having it finally happen was pretty hard, I guess. It's funny because I know in a fight there's always someone that must lose. I guess I just never considered that one day it may be me." He said putting his hands behind his head still watching the stars.

"Of course, you would think that you could beat everyone. That sounds exactly like you." She paused for a moment and looked over at him. "But to be honest I kind of thought the same. When I saw you that day it made me realize the challenges that we have to face in this new school."

"Yea but I'm good now, you're not always gonna win them all right?" Said Ren.

"Huh?! What's with the sudden change?"

"A friend gave me some advice. Plus talking with you guys made me realize I'm not the only one that's having problems."

A black sedan emerged from the parking lot and slowly approached. The headlights blinded them for a short moment before passing on as it pulled up next to them. "Well, I'll see you Monday Ren." She said as she gracefully stood up.

"Of course, princess." Said Ren sitting up to look at her as she got in the car and drove away.

On Monday Ren and Cody, were back on the camera's searching through each for thieves. Nothing came from it just as last week, but this was not a bad thing. They left the camera room and found Kim in the club room to ask for a ride to Extravagant Pawning.

"Oh my god! You couldn't say anything about this beforehand, I'm busy." Said Kim raising up from her computer.

"I'm sorry I didn't think about it before." Said Cody.

"We can wait when you're not busy." Said Ren scratching his head.

But Kim was already grabbing the keys to the club van off the hook behind her desk close to the window. "No, let's go now so I can get back. If it's something that will help solve this case, I'm fine with it." She said coming from behind the desk.

"Don't worry we'll have you back in no time." Said Cody putting his arm around Kim.

"Don't touch me." She said with a scowl on her face as she walked past him.

The sky was clear, and the sun was shining bright as they made their way down the sidewalk to the crowded parking lot. "What is it that you've found out?" Asked Kim.

"We have a lead on someone who may know who our main suspect is." Said Cody. "Apparently Extravagant Pawning is where he takes the stolen items to."

Walking through several rows of cars they hit the back row that was just as full as the rest. Ren searched for a van that looked like it would belong to the VTF but saw none until Kim hit a button and the lights flashed on it. It was a black big body van that looked better than any other vehicle on the lot. It had a low hood with sleek headlights that streaked across the front of the car.

She hit another button and the engine started while the back door slid open, showing four rows of vinyl black seats that could fit four on each. The outside air was hot, but the seats were comfortable as a cool air started circulating through the van. The door slid shut on its own as everyone put on their seat belts before leaving the parking lot.

Extravagant Pawning was a place that Ren had visited a few times before but not as much as others that he knew. It was in Bouldercrest and was one of a few others that were in his town which held three out of the five in Valdigan's school zone. For the moment he couldn't stop examining the van for it had looked as if they bought it yesterday. No scratches, stains, or unique smell had yet occupied its space.

He sat in the middle back seat where he was positioned right in front of the radio and had a complete view out of the windshield. Cody was surfing through radio stations trying to find something good while cracking jokes about how Kim drove with her hand at ten and two. "This is how you're supposed to drive idiot. Maybe if you drove more like me you wouldn't have been pulled over so much. The VTF can't save you forever eventually one of these officers won't let you slide just because of who you are." She said.

"Well, I'll cross that bridge when it comes." He said finally finding a good song as he and Kim began singing.

The building stood out from the others in an odd way. They had all been built at the same time and in the same way, but the pawn shop had a funny feeling to it. Maybe it was due to the business that was conducted there or the people that usually flocked to it, but it was nothing like the ice cream and retail store connected to it, though it had the same design.

The inside was bright and organized. All sections were labeled with electronics and jewelry locked behind glass cases. The jewelry section was placed in the middle of the floor, locked away in cases that created a square countertop. On the right side of the store laptops and flat-screen televisions lined the shelves behind the counter, while tablets and cellphones were lined in the counter. The left side saw instruments, DVD's, and games on the shelf and inside the cases.

The sales floor was empty, however talking could be heard coming from the back of the store behind the counter where the more expensive items were. Ren, Kim, and Cody approached the counter in hopes that someone would soon come out that they could talk to. After a few moments, Cody yelled to the back and a brown skinned male with a long beard, designer glasses, jewelry, and an expensive black suit came out the back.

"How you guys doing today, can I help you with anything?" He said looking from Ren to Cody but then stopped on Kim and looked her up and down as she read something on her phone. "Ms. Kimberly, what a pleasure." He said arriving back up to her face.

"likewise." She said looking up with a quick smile, then back down at her phone. "But I'm not the one here to speak to you."

"We're looking for Ronald." Said Cody. "Is he here?"

The man smiled and walked back into the back room. A much taller man came out the back with slacks and a designer shirt who oozed the words salesman. He had a large nose with thin beady eyes that looked down toward Ren as he approached the counter.

"So, what can I do for you today?" He said as he leaned over the counter. "You asked for me personally, so I hope it's good."

"Really all we have is a few questions for you if possible, about a certain customer that visits here." Said Cody standing tall with his hands in his pocket. "We are a part of the VTF at Valdigan High School and have recently been put on a case that involves a few locker break-ins and believe this is where the suspect is funneling the items to. In the past he would probably come in here on Monday mornings to trade in some expensive items and most likely would be with more than one person. Large Male, brown hair and most likely dressed in a Valdigan school uniform."

Ronald began to grin as Cody continued to talk and answered him immediately once he had finished. "I knew she was Kim and now that I think about it you must be Cody." He said. "So, one of my clients is the possible suspect for a crime in Valdigan. Not surprised if it's the same person I'm thinking of, it makes sense."

"Who is he?" Ren asked.

"I can't tell you his name because I don't know it. He's usually in and out. Not a lot of talking with this guy. But he's huge, about the same height as me and you but much bigger." He said gesturing toward Cody. "A white male with brown hair, broad shoulders, and a tattoo under his left eye. It could be possible that he goes to Valdigan. But I never saw the crest, just a hoodie and khaki pants."

"If he did, we could search through the database of students from last year to find out. What exactly do his friends look like?" Asked Cody.

"I don't really know; they only came inside once but just to look around at some of the items. The rest of the time they stayed outside."

Ren and Cody looked at each other with tucked lips and seemed they both were thinking the same thing. Ronald looked back and forth between them but was met with silence. This couldn't have been all there was to it if so, they were in the same position before they came here.

"Is there anything else that you can tell us about them?" Ren asked.

"Yea and it's probably the most important part. Before I went out of town, he brought me some more merchandise worth a lot of money. After our transaction, he told me that he would be back soon, and I told him I would be out of town for the next two weeks. He then told me he would be back the second Monday after I came back so I don't know how much truth it is but that's what he said."

"Thanks." Said Cody and Ren turning to leave.

"Your welcome." He said.

"Thank you, Mr. Ronald." Said Kim heading toward the exit.

"Your welcome Ms. Kimberly." He said.

The only thing that was discussed on their way back to the school was different plans of attack to take on Monday. Even Kim included herself in the discussion, trying to guess who the suspect might be. "I'm pretty sure there is no one in the school with those physical traits but for them to know the halls as well as they do, they had to go here at some point." Said Kim.

"That's true and if they don't attend Valdigan now, it's possible to go back in the database to review previous students." Said Cody.

"How far back though?" Said Ren.

"Don't know." Said Cody. "But while we're coming up with a plan what's the next thing we need to do."

When they entered the club room Lucas was heading back over to his locker in a rush. "What's good Lucas, you good?" Asked Ren as they crossed paths.

"Yea, there was just another prank a few minutes ago where a kid broke his arm falling down a flight of steps. The guy who is responsible was last seen down Wing C on one of the staircases so I'm about to head their now." Said Lucas.

"Oh... cool." Said Ren.

"Yea cool... only Friday, the last guy we caught didn't exactly cooperate with telling us who else he was working with and took the 10-day suspension." Said Lucas.

"Well, at least you got the suspension right."

"No, suspensions don't mean the pranks will stop. There is still the rest of the group that is out there, and this isn't even the first suspension for it. Last week we caught three people involved who gave no information on the reason or the people involved. All took suspension over telling who the others involved are. In the end, they will be right back in school doing the same thing." Lucas Said.

"Well do you have a plan to get the information out of them?" Asked Ren.

"I do but it would be by force, but Marcus is following a lead of his own and working on another case entirely so he's not available. Not to mention that it's not my style but I see no other options. The suspect Perry Collins likes to act tough but the only ones that are tough are a few people he hangs around." Said Lucas.

"I'll go."

"What?"

"I'll go." Said Ren. "Come on."

"You serious? Just us?" Asked Lucas with an upturned face.

"Well yea, but if you want more that's fine." He said looking over toward the couches. "Jessie! You wanna go start something?"

She got off the couch immediately and started making her way toward the door. "Of course, where we goin?"

They entered the staircase from the third level and immediately ran into the guy they were looking for. Perry Collins, a junior who had the face of a bird and the hair of a peacock. His tall slim frame hung leisurely from the wall as six other students stood on the side of him as they continued to talk.

"What's up!" Said Ren with a villainous tone. "Which one of you is Perry?"

"Me...and who are you?" Said Perry in a condescending tone.

"That's Ren." Said a freshman that was leaning on the wall. "The other one is Lucas and the girl is Jessie.

"Perry, we have camera footage and multiple witnesses that said they saw you put baby oil on the floor causing another student to fall and injure herself," Lucas said with a stoic voice. "We have also seen you hanging with the others that have been suspended for the same activity and want to know who else is involved."

"Well, that's not gonna happen so you can just suspend me as well." He said pushing off the wall.

"You can tell us, or we can make you." Said Jessie tiring of the conversation. She walked pass both Ren and Lucas and into the face of Perry who looked down on her.

"I see you freshman think this school is yours for the taking." Said one of the other students beginning to circle the freshman. Ren and Lucas slowly separated from Jessie to cut off their progress.

"I could care less who you wit." Said another looking directly at Lucas.

"Now you see...I think I'll take the suspension after. But first, we're gonna kick your ass. Then you can suspend me." Said Perry bending down into Jessie's face. His lips made contact in a way he never would have wanted as Jessie slammed her head into his causing him to stumble back.

On cue, Ren dropped one of them with a clean right to his jaw and another student with a series of punches. Jessie seemed to forget about the number difference because she quickly slammed Perry to the ground. Hitting him with a series of punches that pounded his forearms as he struggled to block his face.

Lucas fought with the one that was closest to the steps. He forced Lucas close to the ledge, but Lucas had managed to grab a handful of the student's shirt to bring him down with him. His left foot slid off the ledge but landed firmly on the second step. With his momentum failing he used his free hand to land a blow to the open rib cage of the student forcing him to collapse.

When Lucas looked back up at the rest of the group, all of Perry's friends were on the floor with Ren standing overtop of Jessie as she continued to throw punches at a screaming Perry whose guard was crumbling. "Ok, I'll tell you please stop! Please!" Yelled Perry.

Jessie stopped for a second, but her arms were still twitching. She relaxed for a second then pulled her arm back again with her fist balled up. Her knuckles were bright red from the blows she had delivered but had no effect on her power. Again, she hesitated before swinging until Ren spoke.

"Jessie, let that man breathe. Let's hear what he has to say." He said.

"You're lucky." She said before raising up to one knee while still straddling his torso. Ren then squatted down next to him with Lucas dropping down on the other side. Perry kept his hands up toward Jessie as her piercing blue eyes were still locked in on his. His shirt was stained with blood from his busted lip that had now begun to swell.

"Now we wanna know everyone involved..." Said Lucas. "Everyone."

After solving the case that involved eight pranks effecting over forty people within the span of two weeks. The freshman VTF members began solving several cases back to back. First Ren and Ryan helped Kenny find a cell phone that the suspect thought ok to still use in the school. Next Ren, Lucas, and Kenny helped Amy locate the hacker that had been breaking into email accounts. They made it easy when Ren logged onto his account in school and waited for the breach. Since he was the only account they were watching, it made finding him to easy.

By the end of the week mostly all their cases had been solved with assistance from everyone else. Lily, Jessie, and Reggie assisted Ryan on Thursday in solving an attack in the bathroom involving three students teaming up on one. No one seemed to see anything but based off what he had and who he was around it wasn't too hard to find the culprits. Then on Friday Gwen, Lucas, Ren, and Kenny helped Lily find a few students that vandalized a vending machine off camera. All it took was to find one who was carrying around an excessive amount of candy and she gave up the others with no problem.

With all week to come up with a plan of attack, Ren and Cody had settled on one by Friday. Watching the cameras for a group of four hooded individuals was obviously the best option. Next would be getting to the location in time before they could escape. Then what the plan of attack would be once they had to stop them.

"Think of some ideas and we'll talk over the weekend." Said Cody leaving the club room.

"You still don't have a plan for Monday?" Asked Eden.

"No. but we will by the end of the weekend, trust me." He said walking toward the door. Students could be seen piling down the steps, into the lobby of the atrium from out the window.

"Does that plan involve me?" Asked Eden.

"Uh...is it supposed to?"

"It should." Said Ryan who was following close behind.

"Did you ask him yet?" Said Kenny who just caught up to the group.

"All of us have been talking and your case is about the only one we haven't solved yet? So, whatever it is your planning let us in on it." Said Eden.

As they merged into the heavy traffic that went down the staircase, it seemed that he had help whether he wanted it or not. However, by the time he got down the steps he already had a few ideas in his head. "Aight cool, I'll talk to you guys throughout the weekend and let you know what I have planned."

# Chapter 10

### History repeats itself

Ren and Cody came up with the plan by Friday night and by Saturday morning he gave a full rundown to the other members at the game. From where they would be placed throughout the school to what they would be doing. On Monday Amy, Lucas and Kenny were in the camera room watching the screens for the suspects. Gwen and Lily were in Wing A, Larry and Eden were on Wing B, Ren and Cody were on Wing C, and Jessie and Ryan were on Wing D. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the hallways filled with students greeting others and gathering their belongings for class.

Ren started on the third floor, weaving through the crowd in search of a large white male with a hood on. The search started about ten minutes ago, but no one had anything to report yet. However, the last bus came in a few minutes ago so they knew if it was going to happen today, they were already here.

There were groups of students but none that were all boys. There were students with their hoods on, but many were by their self. Then there were groups of students entering the bathrooms together but, they would come back out a few minutes later.

_I have seen multiple guys enter the bathrooms with hoods on, but all eventually came back out_. Cody said in the group text.

_Nothing on Wing D_. Responded Ryan

_Same on Wing B_. Said Larry.

_There is nothing to report on the cameras as well_. Replied Amy. _Kenny saw one person with a hood enter the bathroom on Wing A but that is all._

Ren had now made it to the fourth floor and was walking in and out of each bathroom in search of a group of tall hooded students. Locating everyone with a hood and everyone with the figure of the guy he encountered in the woods. Everyone tall looked like the suspects due to his own stature but not everyone had the build of a pro wrestler.

Bobbing in an out of view across the hallway he saw four guys with hoods on moving in the opposite direction. He immediately spun around and began following them. They were tall, with black and blue hoodies who followed behind one another closely as they slipped through the crowded halls.

_I think I found them, fourth floor Wing C but the big guy is not with them_. Said Ren in the group text.

_On the way_. Said Cody.

_Lucas just spotted them_. Said Amy.

_We are coming over_. Said Gwen.

_Don't_. Responded Amy. _Kenny just spotted another hooded man going into the same bathroom the other one went into and he has not come out yet_. Continued Amy _. Check that out first._

Where at?

By lockers A-3400.

_I'm close by_. Said Lily. _I'll check it out_.

_I'm on the way down from the fifth floor_. Said Gwen.

Ren continued to follow them up the hallway sliding around groups of students who blocked the middle of the hallway. He stopped when the four students joined a group of girls that had been close to the end of the hall near the atrium. Three of them removed their hoods while one kept his on while engaging in conversation.

"Was that them?" Said Cody from behind Ren. Ren did not turn around; the voice had already told him who it was.

"Yea." He said.

Their phones began to vibrate in there hand again as it was no use putting it in their pockets. _A large male with a black hoodie has just been seen entering the bathroom after lily. Everyone, report to the bathroom by A-3400 immediately!_ Reported Amy.

They took off without warning toward the atrium, flying past everyone. They made a right onto the main hallway as the light came beaming down from the glass ceiling. The atrium was busy, but a lane seemed to open as people heard the pounding of feet and yelling coming their way. Going from Wing C to B, and then A. Everyone seemed to jump to the side as they came through. They jumped down the steps that would have put them right next to the bridge to enter the club room but got off on level three and continued down the hallway.

Again, their phones vibrated while coming down the crowded hallway _. Lily was attacked in the bathroom, but she is fine. They are heading toward the end of the hall toward the back of the school_. Said Gwen.

_They are heading down the staircase by A-3800. All teams head towards exits to cut them off_. Said Amy.

Ren and Cody went down the closest staircase fighting their way through the congested traffic of students moving regularly down the steps. They leaped off the steps onto the first level as all eyes gravitated towards them. Without skipping a beat, they continued down the hall, weaving through traffic and out the exit. It was a perfect day with the sun glowing brightly across the long field that was cut off by the high trees in the distance. However, there was chaos in the distance as Larry had wrestled one suspect to the ground while Eden and Lucas chased after the two heading toward the back of the school.

The larger man was heading towards the woods and immediately Ren and Cody took off after him. Another door flew open as Jessie and Ryan came sprinting out. "Help the others!" Yelled Cody across the field as he pointed toward the back of the school. Ren did not bother looking in their direction. His target had just entered the woods and he knew if they slowed down for a second, he wouldn't get the chance again if they lost this time.

He entered the woods with Cody not far behind. It was much thicker and more entangled than the other part they went through two weeks ago. The trees were much closer, and the light changed to dark as the trees erased the sun. They ducked under low branches, swatted at leaves, and side steeped trees in their pursuit. The crunching of twigs filled the air as both parties charged ahead.

The chase seemed to go on forever, but Ren noticed the gap beginning to close. When they came out of the woods, they entered another open field that led onto a busy street with the shopping center across from it. As they approached, Ren saw the oncoming traffic speeding towards them. He watched closely for the suspect to stop right before jumping out into traffic. He balled his fights as he got closer and closer to the road as it seemed this is where they would fight once again. It seemed the suspect had other plans as he dashed across the street without even looking left or right for traffic. Adrenaline allowed no time for hesitation as Ren scanned the distance of the cars approaching and the distance he had to cross the street.

He ran at an angle away from the oncoming traffic as horns began to blow repeatedly at him. He made it across the two lanes then across the opposite side which was clear. There was someone swearing at him in the background, but his focus was now back on the suspect who was halfway across the parking lot. He no longer heard the accompanying footsteps of Cody and knew he got caught by the oncoming traffic. He knew Cody would catch up, but he also knew he had to catch up.

Escape was the only thing on his mind Ren figured as he cut down into an alleyway. He cut down it as well and found nothing but dumpsters and debris on the ground. The light faded once more as a gloomy shade of grey was set in between the high buildings. He couldn't hear footsteps anymore, or anything else for that matter, it was silent.

Dumpster tops rattled as stray cats climbed from under the lids as he continued down the long sketchy alley. Paper and cigarette buds crunched under his feet as he continued forward. The alley was lined with six dumpsters, three on each side. As he passed the first set, he saw a dark figure hop out from behind the one on the right.

He threw a wild haymaker which Ren evaded easily and followed it with two punches that sent him and his dog mask the other way. Ren gave him no chance to recover as he delivered a fury of blows as the masked man tried his best to guard himself against every punch. Most of the punches bounced off his forearms but a few landed to the body causing him to let out painful grunts. He retreated to the wall right before Ren threw another punch and tried to drive his foot into Ren's stomach as he opened to swing once more. He quickly guarded with his shoulder, but the force drove him back to the middle of the alley as the masked man went on the offensive.

He rushed Ren swinging constantly which all were dodged with ease. While dodging Ren connected a few punches as he weaved through his opponent's tree trunk arms. One punch he drove directly into his mask knocking it half way off, revealing a scruffy brown beard. As his attack continued, the suspect's punches seemed to come slower. Ren felt as if he was floating, watching the punches come and watching them past by him with ease. As he stepped back from dodging another punch his balance was interrupted by an empty beer bottle lying on the ground.

He caught himself after momentarily stumbling but was grabbed by two big meaty hands. Once again, he had no control over the direction he was going. His feet came from under him as the masked giant dog drove his hands into Ren's shirt and lifted him off the ground. He braced for impact as his back was slammed against the brick wall with great force. The back off his head slammed against it with a rattling sound but somehow, he remained conscious and focused on the task at hand.

A giant fist came hurling towards him as his feet dangled from the ground. He managed to block it with his arms, but the force slammed his head back into the stained brick wall. The giant continued to miss with one fist as Ren continued to weave while struggling to break free. He then felt his shirt being tugged from his body as his opponent pulled him from the wall and slammed him to the concrete.

His tightening muscles broke the fall once more, but the force sent shock waves up his spine as he struggled to get his guard up. He was pinned to the ground with no way to move. Peeking through his guard, he could barely see the fists as they came towards him as the large figure straddled him in the dark with the bright colors of the sky affecting his view.

Heavy blows jilted his forearms and face as he struggled to keep guarded. The cold hard ground scraped his back and head as he tried to weave the onslaught. Even on the ground, he was able to get a few shots in until two large hands swallowed his neck whole. The little oxygen he had left was sucked from his body as if he was in space. As Ren fought to release the gorilla-sized hands free from his neck, the suspect's grip got tighter.

As darkness began to fill his eyes and his face started to swell, a shoe whipped past his face and crashed into the mask over top of him. A strong breeze blew past his face as the masked man fell backward hitting the ground. Cody quickly approached the man as Ren gasped on the ground for air. Though he still had not caught his breath, he watched the body as it laid motionless on the cold black concrete.

Cody squatted down and snatched the mask off the head of the behemoth stretched out on the pavement. "It's Gus!" Said Cody in disbelief. Ren was slow to get to his feet, but the name had some type of enchantment over him. As soon as he heard it, he wasn't worried about the pain in his neck or his throbbing eyes any longer. His nose and lips were thin, but his face was fat and puffy. His beard seemed to cover half his face and the tattoo was right under his left eye where the pawn dealer said it was.

Seeing his face, Ren knew exactly who he was now. In the past, he would hang with Zel before he went to juvie. He was always big but surprisingly he found a way to get bigger. "This guy is like twenty years old; you were fighting a grown ass man." Said Cody as he pulled out his phone.

Ren felt a trickle on the back of his neck but couldn't understand why since it was not raining. He wiped what seemed like water from his neck to find his fingers cover in red. "You ok?" Asked Cody who looked from his fingers to his face.

"Yea, I'm good." Said Ren as he wiped the blood onto his pants. He chose not to worry about it right now since he didn't feel anything except for his eyes that were still throbbing.

After police arrived and handcuffed Gus, another patrol car escorted them back to the school where they picked up the other three suspects. As Ren and Cody got out of the car the other members brought out the three suspects in zip ties. All had left Garrison Middle School a few years before Ren, but he remembered them none the less. It had seemed that he had lost once more in his eyes but for some reason, he wasn't angry or depressed.

Everyone seemed so overdramatic when they got back to the clubroom and realized how injured Ren was. Lily started crying as if she wasn't attacked herself, Kim couldn't keep her hand off him as she continued to check him for any more bruises and even Ryan wanted to know if he could remember everyone's name. After a few bandages on his arm and some gauze tape wrapped around his head, everyone seemed to calm down.

"Damn...Even though you got your ass kicked again I must say that's impressive for you to have held your own against Gus. I can't tell you how many stories I got about him knocking people out." Said Henry dropping down on the couch.

"Yea, plus there's like a six-year difference. If you can fight him, you can fight anyone." Said Larry.

"I wish the one Lucas and I chased down put up more of a fight than he did. Talk about disappointing." Said Jessie.

"How are you feeling?" asked Eden as everyone continued to talk about the four criminals.

"I'm ok." He said. His shirt had been altered with his own blood, his body was covered in bruises and pain in his back seemed to grow stronger and stronger as time went by. However, he was not the same individual that sat in this club room a few Monday's ago that looked the same way. It was a different feeling from a few weeks ago when his emotions seemed to run wild throughout his body. He still was upset, but there was a feeling of satisfaction that seemed to hold everything together.

"Take the rest of the week off Ren." Said Kim. "We are light in cases right now and won't need you so make sure you get some rest.

# Chapter 11

The next day, Ren woke up to a quiet house. A foggy light floated through his room as the sun peaked through his blinds. The back of his head had scabbed over but was still very sore, as was the rest of his body. He didn't have to use the bathroom, or did he feel the need to eat. He laid in his bed staring at the ceiling for a few hours before he even decided to get out of bed.

_I won but I still lost_. This continued to race through his mind throughout the day. When he finally got up to use the bathroom and as he fixed and ate his food. He couldn't make out exactly how he felt because it continued to change throughout the day. One hour he knew he had managed to solve a case that others couldn't solve last year with the help of his friends. Then he knew that with all his experience he was powerless against a larger opponent. Sitting here thinking about it he realized so many other things he could have did but didn't.

Later that afternoon, Eden and her mom came over to see Ren. He came out his room one of the few times that day to say hi to Mrs. Fox who just was an older taller version of Eden. It was just like his mom all over again when she came home from work, hugging, crying and checking him for bruises as if she would find something he already didn't. Eden fussed at her mother to leave him alone as her face began to turn red as Ren's mother began explaining how she felt when she saw him yesterday afternoon. After a few minutes, the conversation turned as Ren was no longer the topic of discussion. He went back into his room with Eden as both their moms discussed their afternoon shows from last night.

"So how are you feeling?" She asked walking into his room.

"Like crap." He said dropping down and laying back on his bed. Staring up at the ceiling once more. "Everything hurts and nothing makes sense."

"Like what?"

"Just stuff."

"Let me see your face?" she asked leaning over him.

He immediately shot up and slouched over on the bed. She jumped back and tilted her head at his abrupt actions. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing I'm good." He said quickly. His heart was racing and now so was his mind. Should he have sat up, should he let her just look at his bruises. Will she see him as being weak or will she comfort him.

"Stop acting weird and let me see your face jerk." She said grabbing his chin. "You act like I've never seen you after you've been in a fight. At least your lip looks better from yesterday.

He looked at the corner of his room as she looked his face up and down. "Everyone in the club kept asking me did I talk to you like they don't have your number. Even people in school were asking about you, apparently, everyone has heard about what happened yesterday." She said.

"What you tell'em?" He asked.

"Just that we caught them, and that Kim told you to take the week off." She said.

He looked at her for a second and got caught by the green gems staring back into his. He moved his chin from out her hand and held on to it instead. "Thanks, I really would rather not come back to school with all these questions about me gettin beat again." He said.

"Why are you so caught up on losing one fight. I know it's the first time it's happened but not everyone can win all the time and you've done that a lot. Not to mention you were fighting a giant who is almost at the legal age to drink. The only thing left to do now is to learn from it and get better." She said coming closer.

It was silent, she didn't have anything else to say and neither did he. Distracted by her eyes he finally realized that he was still holding her hand. Eden's cheeks began to glow red a she looked down at both their hands. "Eden! You Ready!?" Yelled Mrs. Fox through open laughter.

"Um...yeah." She said hesitantly, she slowly stood up and fixed her skirt. "Actually, rest and stop over thinking it. There's always room for improvement, even if you're already the best." She said with a forced chuckle.

She visited him again on Thursday and they hung out with Ryan, Jessie, Kenny, and Lucas on Saturday to watch the school teams play. He was able to enjoy everything on Saturday as all the pain from Monday had disappeared. The only distraction was the attention from his peers who swarmed him at every chance to find out what happened with him and Gus. It seemed that everyone who approached him had a question about what happened in his last case. Lucky for him Jessie lacked a filter or patience for that matter and began threatening everyone who tried questioning him.

On Sunday he stayed around the neighborhood hanging with Benny and a few other friends from around the way. They all hung out at Benny's house for a while until hanging out at the basketball courts for a few hours. Ren explained everything that happened between him and Gus to everyone while others ran a game.

"Dam, you almost beat Gus?" Said Travis. "I wouldn't count that as a loss."

"Yea, you remember when he flipped Craig's car at a party. If you were still conscious, that's not a L. I done seen him put a few people to sleep from one hit." Said Teddy.

"Look at you little Ren growing all up. I knew you had hands but if you held your own against a grown man, you're better than I thought." Said Tia sitting with a group of girls who were all watching Ren.

"Yea, but I'm still pissed. That's a L, no matter how you put it." Replied Ren.

"Talk about pissed, I can't tell you how mad I was last night." Said Benny. Immediately everyone started making side comments about what Benny had to say. "We were at Blair's party and ran into Jungle Lane while there. We decided not to make nothing of it since we were at the party and kept things cool. Come midnight it's me, Dizzy, and Teez coming out of the house the same time Gut and Ritchie came out. Ritchie said something out his mouth slick and Teez caught on to it and said something back. So Teez and Ritchie get into it and me and Dizzy decide to join in before Gut pulled a gun on us and decided to get the whole party's attention while talking trash at the same time. So, with no gun we stood there and took it; words can't express how pissed I was.

"But that ain't no L Benny." Said Tia.

"It is though, they didn't do a damn thing and everyone around saw it." Said Darius.

"Exactly!" Said Teez. "He talked a good game with that gun in his hand. But that's gonna be the end of it if I catch him by himself.

Valley Green and Jungle Lane had been beefing for the longest. No one knows for how long and no one knows why but they didn't need a reason anymore to not like each other. It wasn't an everyday thing with two of the largest neighborhoods in the area but there was always something between them at least once a month. Sometimes it would be quiet, then sometimes there would be something every day for a week straight.

Ren wasn't surprised at what happened at the party since this is nothing new between these two hoods. He was always fighting with someone from Jungle Lane in elementary and middle school so he knew high school wouldn't change. The only thing that changed was him and his involvement in school activities. None the less the hood would always be there and so would the beef.

He stayed at the courts for a few more hours until his mom called him to help bring a few things in the house. When he came back outside from bringing a few bags in, Zel was standing outside in front of his building. He was leaning up on the rail outside the glass door that lead into the building.

"What's good." He said hopping off the rail to dap up Ren.

"What's good." Said Ren as he walked back to the car to get the rest of the food. Zel helped him bring in the rest of the food while saying hi to his mom. She almost convinced him to stay for dinner, but he said he had already eaten and had somewhere to go.

"So, you good? I haven't seen you since Monday and heard what happened between you and Gus." Said Zel as they came back to the front steps of the building.

"Yea I'm good. I just wasn't expecting to lose again."

"Lose... bruh, you were fightin Gus. He like thirty years old; you can't win them all I already told you that."

"Yea, but I was sure this time would be different you know."

"Yea I feel you. You caught them though, that was your main goal and you accomplished it."

"Yea, everything came together in the end for it to happen." Said Ren leaning up on the railing outside. "With the hallway being so busy, we could have easily lost them."

"Yea but the way VTF had them hallways covered on Monday; I don't think anything was slipping through, whether they snuck in the bathroom one by one or not." Said Zel leaning up against the opposite rail. They both dapped up a group of teens walking into the building before continuing to talk.

"But I realize I gotta get better at fighting. It shouldn't matter how old the person is or how big they are right. I mean I've seen you knockout people who had to be three times your size." Ren said.

"That's true...but you shouldn't be comparing yourself to greatness. You're setting yourself up for failure." Said Zel with a grin on his face.

As the group of teens came back outside, they stopped out front with Ren and Zel and talked with them for a while. After a few minutes, a few old heads pulled up and joined in on the conversation. The group stood outside for a couple of hours talking and laughing. Others exited and entered the building passing through the crowd, some even stopped for a while to chat as well. As dusk turned to dark, the groups began to shrink as people began to depart.

Soon it was just Zel and Ren once again but not long after a police car came cruising pass them. Both the driver and passenger were eyeing them from out the window with both Ren and Zel eyeing them back without so much as a blink. Even after the car had passed them, they continued to stare until they felt the police had stopped looking.

"Man, well that's my cue to get from over here." Said Zel as Ren laughed. They dapped each other up and Ren turned to go in the building as Zel went down the small concrete steps.

"Aye, Zel!" Ren called back as he opened the glass door.

"Yea."

"So...How did you know about the plan we had set up to catch Gus and his men?" Ren Asked.

"People talk man, plus it wasn't like you were discreet in catching them." Said Zel.

"But...How did you know how they entered the bathroom?"

Zel looked down at the ground for a quick second and grinned as he stared back at Ren. "I knew our paths would cross eventually but I never would have thought it would have been so quick." Said Zel with a chuckle. Ren was stuck, he didn't know whether to laugh or ask the straight forward question. All he did at that moment was close his mouth when he felt his lower jaw slightly drop. "Be safe out here brah." Said Zel as he continued down the sidewalk.

"Aight brah." Said Ren before going into the building.

Everyone seemed to have something to say to him the next morning from the time he got to the bus stop to the second he stepped into the club room. He received dap and hugs from everyone in the club room. Even Henry got up from the game a dapped him up.

"Good to have you back man, us rowdy ones have to stick together." He said. "Plus, I was getting tired of Jessie telling me how much she misses you."

"Shut up!" Yelled a furious Jessie. "It's good to have you back." She said giving him a fist pound.

He made his way over to his cubby where Gwen was sitting there scrolling through her phone. "What's good Gwen." He said.

"Hey." She said putting her phone down. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Good." He said Removing a few things from his bag.

"That's good, no weirdness this time?" she said rolling her eyes toward him.

"Na, never that."

"Cool...well, it's good to have you back." She said quickly, as her face began to glow red before walking off.

Cody met him at his cubby and the two left the club room together on their way to class. "We got another case, theft, almost like the first one."

"Bet, when are we starting."

"After second period, I got a couple of tests to take these first two periods." Said Cody. "Did you find out what you needed to work on while you were out."

"Yea, I did." Said Ren. "I need to become a better fighter."

Cody laughed. "Really...that's where you think you need to improve. If anything, that's the best part of your game right now. You past many of the seniors in this school and far beyond anyone close to your age."

"But it's not enough, you're not always gonna be there to help and I need to be able to crush anyone at any time no matter the age or size. I know I can fight but I need more training and help with lifting since I can't work out with the football team until I'm a junior."

"Ok... so what's the plan?" Asked Cody.

"You gonna train me." Said Ren so casually.

Cody looked at Ren with wide eyes but couldn't help the grin that began to show on his face. He exhaled slowly before answering. "Seems like more work than I would rather like but alright."

