Squirrel nodded, hitching up the pants again he rushed to Lee. Without thinking he reached out and grabbed hold of the man's hand. Realising what he had done, he quickly snatched his hand back and blushed slightly. He looked away and tried to hide his embarrassment. It had been an impulse to do it. As a child, he wanted to hold the hand of his, now, father figure. The other part of him did it out of habit. Whenever he went out with an older male, they usually liked the whole "treatment", which involved Squirrel acting like a real kid.

Lee raised a brow at the child-like movement. He didn't react much more than with a twitch, and as he passed Squirrel, ruffled his hair. "C'mon, we've got a bit to take care of." Stepping outside, Lee breathed in. The air was still hot, but then, the sun hadn't quite gone down beyond the buildings yet. Before getting into the cab, Lee hoisted himself over the edge of the truck bed and retrieved the old syringe, which he tossed at the house. He'd pick it up later.

"Hop in." He called to the boy, and opened his own door, turned the key in the ignition, and pulled his seatbelt around him. The engine was quiet on this newer model car.

Squirrel jumped into the passenger seat beside Lee and put on his seatbelt. He tried to breathe evenly, but he was panting slightly. This was the first time he had been in a car since Julius had tricked him. He had made it a point not to get into another vehicle since, though he didn't tell Lee this.
It also felt weird that they were going into town to spend money, mainly on him. He had never had anyone buy something for him, short of a burger at the local takeaway bar. He was excited, but dubious at the same time. He had no idea what kind of clothing he liked, and didn't want to buy something too expensive. He clutched the car seat, his knuckles turning white. He was scared and uncertain about everything at the moment.

Lee pulled onto the road leading into the city. It'd take fifteen minutes to get into the outlying shops and apartment buildings. It'd only take a bit of talking to convince anyone that asked that the kid was going through a growth spurt, and needed a new wardrobe that was well past due. Or they'd been burned in a fire recently and needed to be replaced. As they made it close to the outermost shops, most of which were useless for their intentions, Lee glanced at Squirrel.

"You know, looking a little calmer might keep suspicion away from the vehicle." He said. Perhaps he should have taken the kid's measurements and gone by himself, grab a mask on the way, find Julius on his own and drag him into the nearest alley. Reckless, yes, but quicker. And it wouldn't force Squirrel into a negative position again.

"I'm sorry... I'm just... I don't like cars," he muttered, trying to relax. He exhaled deeply and stared out of the window. He didn't want Lee to feel like he was a burden or that he would give them away. He had to learn to be like the emotionless man, else they would get caught. Especially since the man they were after was a police officer. The cops would work extra hard to solve his disappearance. Squirrel wondered if Lee had thought of that. Then again, Lee seemed to have thought of everything.
Squirrel, in a way, wanted to be like Lee. Not the murdering part, but the intelligent, logical part. The part that could keep calm under pressure and never give away any emotions. Squirrel gazed up at Lee's face now and wondered what he was thinking.

Lee was silent for a while, staring out the windshield unblinkingly. Then he sighed. "I figured you didn't like cars much now." He muttered. "I can't know all of your past, but I assume it has to do with Julius. All the more reason to keep him alive for more than a few days..." He usually kept his targets alive for about three or four days, coming downstairs throughout the day to give them false hope, then whip or beat it back out of them. Then he'd cut main arteries throughout the body and allow them to bleed out.

Lee studied the shops as they entered the main streets of the city. A few clothing shops lined up one after the other called to him, some boasting their large gathering of children and preteen clothes. Squirrel looked about like a preteen, and it was close enough for his age of thirteen. Lee pulled into the parking lot stretching in front of the series of stores and into a parking spot, shutting off the engine. "Let's get going." He said. "I'll follow along, and you choose whatever you'd think would suit you." He opened the door, stepping down into the dwindling heat.

Feeling slightly pressured, but relieved to be out of the truck, Squirrel walked the hot pavement, glancing into the windows of clothes stores. He found one store with some interesting and comfortable looking clothes. He entered through a narrow doorway and stepped into a small, dark room. The clothes were hung up along the sides of the store, with large white bins in the centre of the room full of "bargains". Squirrel rummaged through the bins, finding a few tops he liked and some pairs of jeans. As he tried them on, he noticed a hat near the counter. He stared at it with longing. It had ears and two long strings coming down from it, ending in pom poms.
Pointing to the hat, he asked the old man at the counter how much it was. When the man replied that it was $50, his heart sunk and he turned away from it. $50 was way too much to spend on a hat.

Lee followed Squirrel into the shop, and meandered through the limited adult section. There was little of interest in this shop, as Lee tended to go to larger ones deeper in the heart of the city, ones with business casual-type clothing, which was what Lee preferred.

As he rounded back to the front of the shop, he overheard Squirrel's question and the response. Stepping up, he leaned on the counter and studied the hat. "Is that the only one in existence?" He asked the man.

He looked surprised. "N-no...?"

"Then why's it so high? I could take my kid and go right next door and buy two massive wardrobes and five of those hats if I wanted to. What's so special about this one? Is it lined with silver? Imbued with mink hair? What's in it that makes it so amazing?"

"Calm down, it was just a---random amount---"

"Random amount you tell a kid. A kid! Like you'll get much more than thirty five!"

"Okay, thirty five! The rest of the clothes come from the bins, they're totaled a hundred."

Lee rummaged in his pocket, pulling out the money and tossing it down. Then he picked up the cat-eared hat and put it on Squirrel's head. "Come on, we've got to get home." He put a hand on the kid's shoulder and led him outside.

Squirrel was blushing, not believing that Lee cared enough for his happiness to buy him the stupid hat. He straightened it and vowed in his mind to never take it off. It was a part of Lee he could always have with him. Carrying some of the bags of clothes, Squirrel wondered why Lee was so anxious to get home so fast. They hadn't been to the furniture store yet, but looking at the sun, he understood. It was getting very late. If they stayed in town for too much longer, they would miss their chance at getting Julius.
"Do you think he'll remember me?" he asked quietly, as they got back into Lee's truck. He had avoided Julius ever since that day, but he was nervous about being recognised.

Lee tossed the couple of bags he held into the middle of the truck and slid into the seat. "Who?" He asked absently, then paused. "Oh, him. Probably. Some of those freaks remember every one of the kids they..." He shook his head hard. "Whatever. Even if he doesn't remember you, I don't think it matters. If he does, he'll just think you're screwed up, but it won't matter in the end." He started the engine and pulled away from the shops. "And we're not headed home. I had to make it sound that way to get out of there quick. We'll probably have to go to the bedding stores tomorrow, we won't have time to take care of everything tonight."

Lee stared around. They were near where he tended to see Julius these days, being Thursday. "When I find him, I'll let you out and pull to the back of an alley." He said after a moment. "You can convince him to go back to that alley, and I can do the rest. Just as long as you do it quietly, so none of us look out of place or suspicious. Got that?" He glanced sideways to Squirrel.

Squirrel nodded, knowing exactly how he was going to lure the perverted old man back into the alley. All he had to do was pretend he needed the help of an officer, maybe hint that he was willing to service him. He had become very good at the subtle signals that meant he was looking to service someone. He was confident in that part, anyway.
He glanced at himself in the mirror. He was sure that, after the shower, he looked completely different. He was kinda hurt that Lee hadn't said anything about his appearance now that his skin wasn't covered in dirt and his hair clumped together with muck. Then, he supposed he only felt like that because he was used to men complimenting his appearance, even if it was only before he pleased them.

Lee pulled over momentarily when he caught sight of the man. Julius was sitting outside an outdoor cafe, without a terrible amount of people around. "There he is." He muttered, and looked to Squirrel. "You're not alone anymore. Get him to follow you to the back of the cafe, there's a narrow alley and a run-down old apartment building back there. Get him inside, I'll be waiting there. Then I'll be able to get him into the truck without anyone seeing, all right? Move out!" He revved the engine and looked into the rearview mirror. The street was still crowded. Lee hated the city for that. But a lot of people meant a lot more places to hide. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

Lee had managed to squeeze back into the fray of vehicles, and turned onto a smaller road nearby. Turning the truck around and blocking the alley, Lee put his hand into his pocket and walked along, stepping toward the doorway that was slightly open. He moved inside, and stood right there. If anyone passed, they wouldn't see him in the shadow, wouldn't notice he was there until they were already inside the little back room of this apartment building. His fingers tapped the wall beside him, and he became restless even as he tried to see what Squirrel could have been doing. Stepping up to the man. Putting on an act. Convincing him. Leading him away from the public eye. Lee sighed, turning around to look at the old boxes, a couple dusty, rolled up carpets. Growling to himself, he looked back outside. His heart almost stopped.

They were away from the road, the public eye. Julius had no doubt followed this routine many a time, and knew how far to take the kid. He stepped outside, and stalked forward, gaining momentum every moment until he broke into a full sprint, smashing into Julius and ripping him away from Squirrel. "You dare touch my boy!?" Lee roared as a truck blared its horn, balling up a hand and bringing it down on the man's jaw. Julius's face contorted in shock and pain as he fell, and Lee fell on top of him, bringing out the syringe, uncapping it, and jamming it into the man's neck. The light faded from his eyes, and they closed, signaling that he was asleep rather than dead. Lee's fiery eyes dimmed, and he let out that pent up breath.

Standing, he scooped up the cap for the needle and put it back on the syringe, slipping it back in his pocket. Then he looked at Squirrel. "You okay?" He asked. "I should have known. Bastards don't ever listen when they're pent up like that." He shook his head. This was as close to fear or concern as Lee could get. A raging anger that pushed him to defend Squirrel.

Panting heavily, Squirrel adjusted his clothes and shuddered, still feeling the man's hot, rough hands on him. He looked at the man, who was now passed out on the ground behind Lee. He glanced up at the man and was surprised to see that he was angry. Thinking he was angry at him, he lowered his gaze in shame.
"I'm so sorry... I tried to lead him to where you wanted, but he..." he shuddered involuntarily as he remembered the panic he had just felt as the dirty man touched him. He felt tears in his eyes again, feeling ashamed at his weakness.

Lee shook his head, clearing his mind as he bent down and grabbed Julius, bringing him up and over his shoulder. "What?" He asked suddenly. "It's not your fault. It's his. Mine, thinking you'd get him far enough to me. If I hadn't looked out when I did, I'd have been responsible for what happened next. And that's not about to happen, not ever. I'll never let you do this again." He rearranged the burden on his back and turned. "Come on, we have to get back home before this bastard wakes up."

Going behind Squirrel, he pushed him along with his elbow, both hands hooked on Julius so he wouldn't fall.

Feeling slightly relieved, Squirrel scurried towards the truck, cautiously looking about. He wondered what was going to happen to Julius now. He knew he wanted to witness most of it, and he definitely wanted to inflict some of the pain on this bastard. He glanced back at Lee as he jumped into the truck's cab.
"What happens when the cops know he's gone missing?" he voiced his concerns. He didn't want to go to prison and he didn't want Lee to either.

Lee walked a little slower than average. Julius was heavy, a big man that probably told everyone he was just 'big boned'. "I don't know, and I don't tend to care." He said with a huff, lifting open the toolbox and tossing the man in. His badge and belt clattered a bit as he closed the lid. "They'll probably launch an investigation, but focus on those he'd arrested, people close to him. I've never been around him enough to inflict suspicion on me, and you're a kid, you look too thin and weak to do much more than throw a punch or kick that won't even leave a bruise."

He leapt over the other side of the bed and got into the driver seat, starting up the truck. "Better to get away sooner rather than later, though. Keep away from that particular area for a couple days. It'll probably be grouped with the other disappearances that've gone on the past year." He pulled onto the main road, following the rest of the inconspicuous vehicles as they ran about to their various destinations.

Squirrel stared at his feet at the mention of how weak he was. He hated being like this and wished he could hurry up and become a man. If he could be any man, he'd want to be one like Lee. He put his elbow on the door by the window and rested his head in his hand, watching the outside world go by. Sometimes he wished he had been normal. Maybe now he'd be at home with his parents, eating a normal meal and going to sleep in a normal bed. He sighed and opened the locket that hung around his neck. He looked at the photo of his baby sister and wondered if what Lee had said was true. Maybe she was miserable on the street somewhere.

Lee glanced sideways as they moved into the lesser populated outskirts of the city. "Hey." He barked. "Don't go looking like that, kid. Your look helps you avoid suspicion for the time being. But if you're careful, as you age, you can continue to hone your appearance and your ability to handle your emotions and therefore, avoid suspicion in other ways." He glanced in the back. For a moment he thought he'd see Julius opening the toolbox and crawling out, but of course, his mind tended to play tricks like that all the time. He shook it out of his mind.

Squirrel started when Lee yelled at him. He didn't realise he was looking like anything suspicious. He apologised and crouched over instead, staring at his knees. He noticed a fleck of blood and traced the droplet towards his thigh. He hadn't noticed, but in the struggle, Julius had scratched him, drawing blood. He watched the cut bleed, feeling slightly light headed.
"Do you have a tissue?" he asked Lee, wanting to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. He was always afraid he'd bleed to death, even when it was just a small amount of blood.

Lee shook his head, reaching up to the sun visor folded against the roof and handing a couple tissues to Squirrel. "Calm down, it's just a scratch." He said. "You must be hemophobic, that's evident." He paused. "That means afraid of blood, by the way. Fears can be overcome, by a series of therapy visits, or exposure therapy itself, but maybe it'd be good to wait for that." He nodded slightly. They didn't have time. And if Squirrel were hemophobic, he'd not be able to handle being in the basement when Lee had someone down there.

They pulled to the house again, and Lee shut the engine off. "Go on inside, there are band-aids in the first aid kit in the kitchen. It'll be on the counter. I can't wake Julius forcibly, so we'll have to wait until later. Possibly until morning, if it takes long enough." He stepped out after handing Squirrel the keys to the door, finding the air rather cool now. The sun was mostly down, anyway.

Squirrel happily got out of the cab and made his way to the kitchen. He found the first aid kit and helped himself to the band aids. It wasn't like he was afraid of blood. He could handle other people bleeding, he just hated it when HE started to bleed. He thought about telling Lee this when he noticed that the bones in the oven were done. Remembering what to do next, Squirrel took the big ones out of the oven and placed the medium-sized ones on a tray. He made room for the skull and put that on as well. He slipped the new tray into the oven and turned it back on, setting the timer for an hour. He then placed the cooked big bones onto the table and went to find Lee, to ask him what to do next.

Lee took a moment to brace himself before lifting Julius. Usually his targets weren't so... hefty. Lifting with his back was a bad idea, he'd learned long ago. Dragging him into the house, Lee closed the door behind him and went to the basement as Squirrel seemed to exchange the bones in the oven with the smaller ones. At least he was a quick learner. Heaving Julius to the ground at last, Lee let out a whistle and hooked the man's arms, head, and this time, his feet to the ground. He didn't have plates bolted to the floor for foot restraints, but weights were useful in making it hard to maneuver their feet and legs.

Rechecking the bolts and locks, he nodded at his work and stepped back upstairs to find Squirrel. "Bucket and grinder are below the table." He said. "The grinder hooks onto the lip of the bucket, but put a trash bag in first so the dust collects at the bottom. Then break up the bones into small pieces, and they'll be easily fed into the top of the grinder. It'll take a little muscle and time, but you'll finish before you know it." He leaned against the wall behind him. "God, he's big. I can't imagine him on top of me." He shook his head and swept back his hair. It always seemed to come loose at the worst times.

Feeling strangely satisfied at seeing Julius chained up, Squirrel smiled and went back to his work. He found some gloves and put them on first, remembering about the fingerprint problem. He then took a large rubbish bag from a drawer and flicked it out, placing it inside the bin mentioned by Lee. He found that the hammer needed to brake the bones was sitting on the bench, obviously put there by Lee. He picked that up, checking its weight between his youthful fingers. It wasn't so heavy that he wouldn't be able to work with it, which made him happy.
He started hitting the bones, braking them into smaller pieces and then placing them into the grinder that he had set up accordingly. He started the grinder, turning the heavy metal knob in a circle. This he found to be very hard, as it required a lot of strength to grind the bones up. He was nearly exhausted by the second lot he had done.

Lee watched Squirrel move about, in a way, glad that he could find each item himself. Glad, but at the same time, rather sad. Or, as sad as he could make himself. It'd have been better if Squirrel didn't have to help a killer. Maybe that's what the kid thought too. But some form of grisly justice would be served because now, they had Julius. A bad cop. An embarrassment to the department. Lee gritted his teeth momentarily, then went to sit across from Squirrel. "This is how I got stronger." He said as the boy cranked the bones into dust. "Do this, switch arms from day to day, you'll not feel the muscle pain afterward eventually. You'll get stronger, and that'll help you. Later." After he got caught. Lee knew where this would end. He wouldn't just stop killing suddenly. He'd grow bored one day, perhaps. Then he'd leave an obvious trail to him, but not to Squirrel. He'd have to talk about that with the kid before, though.