Moral Dilemma [PG13]

[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] It had been awhile since he set foot into a bar even, his less-than-enjoyable run-in with White having scared him so badly that he tried not to spend more time than he needed to in the town. However, with the move to the island, he decided it was time to start off fresh, only this time he was just a bit wiser. Wise enough to know not to **** with the vamps, and that was all he needed. He couldn't have picked a better time to start over either, as he was just starting to realize how much he'd missed the place, and he really liked the atmosphere in this new building. A good cabaret was hard to come by nowadays. Sure, a guy like him wouldn't have minded a simple brothel either, but he could appreciate the time and effort that went into this place. Now was the perfect time to hunt for a few new girls to play with too. He'd been devoting so much time to just talking to a different girl who had no interest in sleeping with him that he was in desperate need of more "companionship." Possibly some sport too. It had been awhile since he'd watch a good woman have her flesh ripped from her bones. Yes, tonight would be a good night. ... Oh wait. He had a kid now. Well, he didn't have a kid... Actually, he did. A lot. Just not with him. What he meant was that at the moment he had been charged with taking care of a certain kid. Imagine that. Him, babysitting. Though to be fair it didn't seem like Le Cyll had many friends to ask. With a shrug, he sat down at the table, across from the kid, silently cursing having agreed to watch her. He had plans, dammit. Plans that did not including looking after some weird little girl while her father was out running "errands." That should be him out stalking and killing! Why couldn't he just take her with him anyway? It wasn't as if she'd never find out. He should take care of his own damn kid and not count on Hendrix to be the responsible one. Even though he had just brought her to the... Cabaret. Oh yes, he was very responsible. "No better place to learn a few life lessons," He chuckled to himself, cracking open the bottle he held and taking a long swig. As he set it on the table he looked at Claudia, then back at the bottle, wondering what to do with her. Kids needed stuff to drink, right? They were kinda like mini adults, right? He reached forward, grabbing another bottle from the center of the table and twisting the top of before setting it in front of her, offering it to her. Beer couldn't be too bad for kids, right? It was almost like water, so it should be fine. Although he did see some people get rather strange after drinking. Oh well. Taking another swig from his bottle, he began to instinctively scan the room, picking out the women he'd most like to ****. Man, what he wouldn't give to take one of them back to a hotel room... Or to a nice, dark alley. But what could he do while he had a kid in tow?

[Я Є Đ WOLF]

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[bg=61565c] It was really quiet, where Claudia was. Where she was not that much - talking, glass sliding and scraping and clinking across the laminated table, sound of people greeting one another or strange other noises the small child could never comprehend in her young purity. But it was quiet as far as she was concerned, and as far as she was concerned was just far enough surrounding her so that her skin could fit. Everything outside of the silky white skin and the soft blond curls was white noise - to be ignored until it proved interesting enough for her to pay it her attention. But it never was. So she simply sat there, amidst the clamor of the cabaret as still and as quiet as she could be - because where she was it was really quiet, and she did not want to make a sound to disturb that quiet. She wouldn't waste the energy to. It was nice enough as it was. And then slowly, very slowly, so that it almost seemed the perfectly poised creature did not move at all, Claudia looked up at what he had placed in front of her. Daddy loved her. He would dress her in such pretty dresses and brush her hair until it shined like sheets of bouncing, pressed gold. And she would be so still that she would never ruin any of it - which made him even more happy with her. Now, as she sat in the lacy pink dress that daddy had dressed her in - every pleat exactly as it have been the moment he'd straightened it, she wondered if she should ruin that perfection by reaching up and taking the glass. But she was thirsty. She was always thirsty, and the glass had water in it. So she took it between her two small hands without and word, and still with that slight, stiff motion that one would expect of a porcelain doll, she lifted the mouth of the bottle to her lips and took a sip. Not water... but it was liquid. She took another sip, then put the drink back down. Her cheeks felt warm and flushed, like fire, and she didn't like the warmth. So she ignored the bottle, even though it had liquid in it. A few minutes passed. She wondered whether or not to even bother with speaking. It served little purpose, but just as she recognized that she knew another thing too: she was curious. She could not help it. In some small, faint way she had that spark of life that all children did. Even though she did not feel really like a child and she did not want to know what that meant, to "be a child." So she asked, and her voice was like soft, dusty chalk grating upon itself - frail and yet somehow strong enough to be noticed. "What are you looking for?"

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[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] He still wasn't used to hearing the kid speak. She didn't do that too often. Didn't do much of anything that often. It was strange, but he supposed it was also a good thing. For him, at least. It meant that he didn't have to do much with her. He could just put her in a chair and have her sit there for a few hours. The thought did occur to him to do just that as he left with one of these women for awhile, but he decided against that, thinking he'd probably lose a friend if he accidentally let said friend's daughter get killed. It would be better to keep an eye on her for the time being, he decided as he listened to the strange, little voice asking him what he was looking for. What he was looking for? He... Couldn't tell the truth, right? It was just a kid after all, and if he tried to tell her, how could he explain it? What's more, something told him that her father might not be happy about him explaining such concepts to her. "I was just... Looking to make some new friends." There. That wasn't a complete lie. He did enjoy making friends, preferably very stupid, vulnerable ones. Then he could take advantage of those friends and then he could toss them to the side when he was finished and then he could find new friends and start the entire cycle over again. He paused for a few moment, strumming his fingers across the table. He took another drink, then slid the empty bottle to the side. Looking from her to the bottle in front of her, he looked for something to break the awkward silence. What could he say? He wasn't good with kids. You'd think the moron who'd asked him to watch her would have figured that out on his own. "You, ah, want somethin' else? I'm sure they got water or somethin'." Most places had water, right? Not that he'd checked lately. He learned that people would look at you strangely if you walked into a bar and asked for water. Just like people looked at you strangely when you brought a kid into a cabaret. Although they did seem to get over their initial shock very quickly for some strange reason. ... Oh. Only now did he understand the implications of bringing a small child into such a place. Goddamn perverts. Couldn't they see that he was just trying to be a good babysitter here?

[Я Є Đ WOLF]

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[bg=61565c] There was something very small and frail about the child. But it was not a normal frail. Normally, when you noticed something was so breakable you thought it pathetic - like the small child that was bullied through his entire school career. But this was not the same frailty - this was something that perhaps went pas that initial assumption of "weak" or "pathetic" and moved into a completely new category of breakability. You see, because the little girl looked so very.... breakable, it was almost like dealing with a fine piece of china. There was not the need to break something such a a vase or statue - in fact you could say that there was an aversion to breaking something so expensive, so precious, so beautiful and so horribly able to be chipped or shattered. It was in this way that Claudia appeared - not delicate as if she were something to be preyed upon, but fragile in such a way that it must almost be a sin to touch and harm such a pristine little doll. It must cost so much... What excuse could you make for breaking her? "Show me," the small voice said. Ah, children. Sometimes you had to wonder if they were onto you or not. They seemed so innocent, but wasn't it the child that always cut through the "red tape" of formality and innocently asked the one question you would not like answered? Children did not know what they were asking, did they? Of course they could never understand what they were doing... they were mere children. Innocence was the opposite of knowledge, wasn't it? So Claudia could not possibly know what she was asking Hendrix about. And she had simply not heard him offering her water. That is why she tastefully ignored such an offer, isn't it? She was not a simple single-minded creature of great intellect. She was a child. Nothing but a child with a question.

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[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] Though he could never be truly comfortable with having to sit back and not answer to the voices whispering in his head, he had enough practice in ignoring them for awhile. Of course, it was never a good idea to ignore them for too long. It usually ended with him hurting himself, whether purposely or otherwise. Having to sit and watch women walk by, knowing he wasn't allowed to touch, only made things worse. They were being so loud... So painfully loud. And yet, he was the one who brought them into this place, wasn't he? Evidently, he must be some kind of masochist. What color do you think she bleeds? Or her? We should get a couple and compare them! No, not now... Couldn't they see that he was busy right now? He needed to stay focused. To stay focused on... Making sure the kid didn't die. When he heard the soft voice again, he looked up, blinking as he put together what she asked. Well, it wasn't so much a question as it was a demand. A very nice, unassuming demand. "Oh, your dad would be ****ed if I 'showed you,'" He chuckled. Indeed, what would Le Cyll think if he brought his precious daughter with him on one of his nightly adventures? Doing so might just lose him a friend. Such a shame that would be. Actually, that really would be a shame. There weren't many people willing to put up with him, strange as that may seem. It wasn't as if he were a mindless killer. He could actually get along quite well with others, however, it seemed as though what he did was still considered taboo, even by the most experienced murderers. It was a level of hypocrisy he had yet to fully understand. Still, as he looked to the side at a blond girl leaning against the bar, he couldn't help but think if it would be so bad to 'show her.' It wasn't as if Claudia would be hurt. If he recalled correctly, Le Cyll had only mentioned her physical well-being and, let's be honest, considering who her parents were there was probably very little that anyone could do to aid her mental health. Maybe... No, dammit! He might not have been the most moral person in the world, but even he knew there was something pretty sick about bringing a child along to watch as he brutally attacked a woman. Then again, the island was full of sick, twisted creeps. She'd see something like that eventually, no matter how much her father tried to shelter her. "Maybe... If we just promise not to tell dad..." He contemplated this, watching the blond as she chatted with one of her friends, a brunette. They were both wearing such provocatively low-cut dresses; they were just asking for all sorts of attention. It would be rude of him not to give them all that attention they so rightfully deserve. Getting up, he went to stand beside Claudia, nodding toward the women he was looking at. "How about we get to know them a little better then?"

[Я Є Đ WOLF]

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[bg=61565c] If it was ever possible to watch the girl think - because she thought in much the same way that her father did, in that complete lack of expression that apparently must require a great deal of energy to muster if you were going to forget something so elementary as an expression - she might be described as thinking now. Not that she changed in any way at all, but maybe there was a difference in the size of her pupils, or perhaps the small heart that beat so steadily picked up a few paces before immediately sinking down into the monotonous march that it always did. Whatever it was that may or may not be seen as Claudia thought, she did in fact do so - and she came to one conclusion, though we may never know how advanced or how rudimentary that conclusion is. She did not speak, simply nodded once, then slid off the chair and past where her guardian was seated, grabbing his hand - not with any kind of force - but enough to show him that she wanted to move now, and that she could not possibly move through this place without him. Because that was silly. A baby in a bar? Claudia walked up to the two women, and seeing one had a dress at a height that could be easily reachable to her, she tugged on it ever so lightly. For some odd reason, nine out of ten times when a woman sees either a dog or a baby they will inevitably stoop to fawn over it. Now, what both a dog and a baby have in common is not known, but it did work at a steady rate regardless. Both women seemed to fall under the nine category of this equation, and immediately, although Claudia had done nothing more than look at them, they began to make annoying baby noises at the small child. As she simply stood there, confused. Of the many things she may or may not know, it was apparent that she had no idea of this statistic - she had never really been in public before; and quietly she just stared at them, wide eyed and with only one thought. "...daddy?"

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[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] Without any prompting, the child silently rose to her feet and began leading him toward the most recent objects of his affections. This left him to wonder just what level of hell he was going to end up in. Rape and murder were terrible, sinful crimes by themselves, but people seemed to take things so much worse when a child was involved. Perhaps it was because of the child's perceived innocence. It horrified people to no end when that innocence was tainted. So what if the child had been tainted to begin with? It should no longer be as big of a deal, though he doubted there were many people who held the same, questionable views that he did. Still, no matter who you were, you had to appreciate the little act that the child put on for those two women. In one, swift motion she had broken through whatever defenses they might have had up. Already, they were enamored with the adorable, little girl and now they were apparently incapable of forming coherent sentences. It was like the kid had cast some sort of spell over them. And this all happened simply because she was a child. A child... Yes, that was it! In his hundreds of years of life it had never even occurred to him, but there it was now, plain as day. A child was always the answer. Women loved children, so of course they'd be drawn to them. He wouldn't even have to seek them out. Instead, they'd be drawn to the cute kid and her protective and overwhelmingly handsome guardian. What's more, no woman would think a man with a child could be dangerous! It was the perfect plan! This kid could be the best wingman he'd ever had. Caught up in his epiphany, he had only been smiling stupidly at the two women, completely oblivious to the fact that he had a role to play as well. Luckily, the small voice brought him out of this stupor. Looking from Claudia to the women and back again, he promptly put on the best “concerned parent” look he could manage and he knelt down to attend to the small child. ”It's alright, sweetheart,” He assured her, gathering her into his arms and placing her onto one of the bar stools. He then turned back to the women, acting as if he'd just now noticed them, ”Oh, I'm very sorry to disturb you ladies. She's still very young. She doesn't know better.” He placed a hand affectionately on Claudia's shoulder, ”It's just that she's had some trouble adjusting- it's been hard on both of us, really – since her mother passed.” He sighed and shook his head at the terrible memory, ”I'm sorry. I'm sure you don't want to hear about that.” It turns out that they did want to hear about it, and he decided that he had no other option but to oblige. He explained the misfortunes surrounding poor Claudia's life; how it had been a sudden, tragic illness that had claimed Iris' life – Iris was the mother. He couldn't for the life of him remember her real mother's name – and he, like any good father, had continued to raise Claudia on his own. Not once did they stop to inquire as to why such a good father had brought his daughter to a bar and really, who would want to interrupt the poor, sensitive single father who had just recently lost his wife of seven years? They ate up every lie he fed to them, so he continued, explaining how their life was now and making up more stories whenever he began to run out of stuff to talk about. Every now and then, one of the women would stop to make sounds of pity or comfort at Claudia, though for the most part they remained hooked on his every word. They were fascinated by their lives. A nice home, white picket fence, a dog. They were just a charming, little family. After that, it went very smoothly. It was oh, so easy to manipulate them without them realizing it. He needed only to suggest that they all go out for a walk and they agreed without a moment's hesitation. It wasn't as if they needed to be suspicious. He had a daughter. He was perfectly fine. Of course, this also brought Claudia back into his mind. He could easily take both of these women now, but what would he do with the kid? Just give her a front row seat to watch the show? Why couldn't someone start a daycare for times like this? He'd only need five minutes... Actually, no. That'd be no good. Maybe fifteen at the most. Yeah, he could work with fifteen minutes.

[Я Є Đ WOLF]

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[bg=61565c] So small, Claudia was. And despite any brilliant thoughts she may or may not have had locked inside her head, she would remain this small... and this inconspicuous. The conversation dragged on, and as most children do, she grew bored with it. Picking up a stray napkin from the bar, she amused herself with it as best she could. Namely, by crumpling it when she noticed Hendrix mention something about going for a walk. Walk? She liked walks. A walk was what her mommy took her on the last time she saw her. Not the fake mommy that Hendrix had made up, the real one. She didn't like this fake mommy much, or this fake life. What was wrong with her life? She liked her life. Her life was exactly like it should be. "Yes..." the little voice said. "Walk." And that was settled. She would go on this walk. Walk. That was the exact word mommy used. She knew why people went on walks; because it made them feel better to go on walks. Even daddy went on walks sometimes, but he told her he was going to stop soon, and that she should never go on walks like he did. It was wrong. But Hendrix was walking, and she wanted to walk too. Once again holding his hand, she led him and the swooning women - now fixated on Hendrix instead of her, out of the bar.

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[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] Despite the fact that he had two gorgeous women hanging onto him, he didn't feel quite as pleased with himself as he should have been. It was difficult for him to shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong. Mostly because he was doing something wrong, but he was always something wrong, so what was different now? He was only babysitting. It wasn't that big of a deal, and yet it felt like one. What then? Do you intend to leave them?! He stopped dead, looking down at Claudia, though he said nothing. By now the women had noticed his sudden stop and had turned to see what was wrong. He merely stared at them, still not speaking. Instead, he took Claudia and walked her back a few feet so that she was out of the way before he returned to the women himself, his charming smile replaced. He assured them that nothing at all was wrong, but it was getting very late out and it was well past Claudia's bedtime. They were very understanding about it, if not disappointed that he couldn't stay with them for much longer. Still, being the gentleman that he was, he offered to walk them home, an offer which they happily accepted. Whether or not they thought that they still might have a chance with him, he would never know, though if they did hold any such hope, he would be happy to oblige them. A gleam of metal was all that could be seen, and in the next moment, the brunette was on the ground, bleeding profusely from the wound on her neck. He tossed the knife carelessly to the ground beside her. It had taken him years to figure out the best way to take two women at once. Normally, as soon as he'd attacked one, the other would flee, and he couldn't exactly finish with the first quickly enough to catch up to the second. The solution he finally came up with? Kill or nearly kill one of them quickly. Then he could take his time with the other and the dying girl clearly wouldn't be going anywhere. Of course, that meant that by the time he got to the second girl, she wasn't going to be putting up much of a fight. Still, it worked. By now the blonde had realized what had happened and she made to scream, but he caught her first, forcing her against the side of the building and letting her know that it wouldn't be wise to scream; it wouldn't do to frighten the child. In her terror, she still managed to nod, as if she thought listening him would spare her more pain or death. It wouldn't. He left her broken and bleeding against the wall as he went back to the brunette. She was dead by now, as he assumed she'd be. He reached down to her and tore off a piece from her jacket which he then used to begin scrubbing the blood off of his hands. Then he remembered Claudia. He looked back at her for a moment, and then down at the brunette that he hadn't yet touched. Quickly, he scrubbed off the last of the blood and tossed the cloth back on top of her. Then he turned away from her and walked back toward Claudia. "I'm, uh, done here." There would be trouble if someone saw them both there, so he figured it would be best to get them both out of there quickly.

[Я Є Đ WOLF]

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[bg=61565c] Hendrix took the people outside. This, to Claudia, was odd. It wasn't because she was concerned with the women, or with Hendrix, or even worried about why Hendrix had come here and done what he did. She was uncomfortable, though, because they were walking together. She had never been next to so many people. It was... odd. So off she went, a little skip in her step as she walked. Her tiny pink dress of lace and satin gleaming in the streetlight. Hendrix was taking them somewhere, and then he stopped and held Claudia back a ways. And then she watched, with the light of an overhead lamp pooling around her. She watched as the one lady fell and the other came towards her. She watched as she didn't anymore, and then as she got hurt. Hurt? Maybe it was hurt. Such complexities as what Hendrix was doing escaped the small mind, but Claudia was by no means stupid. This "hurt" whatever it was, did bad things. It was negative, and it sounded and looked very negative to her. But negative was a relative term - and Claudia had experienced neither this pain nor any other. She saw but the pain of another, and without any comparison, she simply imagined what this new abstract concept of pain was. And then it was over, and Hendrix came up to her. She stared at him, with her bright, round eyes. They looked wide and afraid.... or perhaps this was simply the way children's eyes looked? She certainly made no indication of fear, or really anything for that matter. But these round eyes followed him, and the little neck craned to keep track of his towering figure as he approached. She blinked once, then a little smile curved the pouting lips up. "I'm thirsty'

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[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] Placing his hand against her back, he led the child out of the alley, looking over his shoulder just as the Nocturnni began to rise from the ground and edge toward the bodies curiously. He didn't have the time to wait for them to finish, so rather than be sent back, they would be left to wander the streets until someone finally killed them. He felt kinda bad for the little monsters, but it was easier to ignore the stupid ones' deaths. He chuckled, almost insanely to himself, patting Claudia's shoulder as they continued down the street, though he had no clear idea of where he was taking her. "Sure, sure. We'll get you anything you want," He said, nodding absently, "And we're not telling daddy about this, right? He... He wouldn't understand." For some reason, he found this incredibly funny, and he fell into another fit of giggles. Strange that he was acting so... Strangely. It must be all that adrenaline. After all, not only had he just done something that was generally frowned upon in many societies, but he had found a way to make it ten times worse by involving a child. He'd feel bad about that later, but right now it was damn funny. "Just like all the others. They'll never understand. A man has needs, Claudia. My needs may be different than most, but that doesn't change what they are. No person should deny another's need to eat, right? So why is it perfectly okay to deny mine?!" He snarled, not caring who was there to see him like that. By now it was clear that they weren't going anywhere at all, but rather, he had picked a street at random and started walking down it. "It's because my needs cause other people to get hurt," He answered his own question, "But how is that any different than the dictator who secures more land for his growing population by uprooting the lives of millions of others? Or the dragon who gets his nourishment by eating the flesh of something that once had a life? A family? Damn them... They try to make me into a monster. It's all lies. We're not monsters, Claudia. No... We're much stronger than they are. We're better than them, and they're afraid. They should be afraid; afraid of what we'll do to them for making us into these monsters." He was staring resentfully at the air in front of them before an air of realization softened his features. He looked around them nervously, worried that someone may have heard his rant. Then his eyes fell on Claudia again, and he stooped down so that he was at her eye level, and smiled at her. "And that's another thing we won't mention to daddy."

[Я Є Đ WOLF]

[atrb=width,470,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][bg=61565c] The night was suddenly very cold. Now, this is not to say that there was a sudden decrease in temperature, however after all the... excitement, shall we say, the blood that pumped through the little girl's veins began to slow. Make no mistake - this was not adrenaline. This was a symptom to a malady that was much more common to children, and to adults too, for that matter. Sleep. Claudia was tired, and being the small child that she was, she did not enjoy this late night scenario. It tired her quickly, and the streets she was being led through where not helping much. But Hendrix seemed to be saying something, and not paying attention to her so much as a child as he was a listener - and she was an excellent listener. So listen she did without complaint, and when finally he knelt down and spoke to her face-to-face, she simply nodded wordlessly. She would not tell daddy. Daddy would not tell her about his walks, so why should she tell him? It was all simple logic to her. "Hold me," she said. Tired... Tired, and why should she walk when there was an adult around to feel obligated? So she held her little arms out, and slowly she curled them around his neck so he would carry her. Simple. Hendrix did not like children - and this she knew, but maybe he would do this for her?

[Iƪƪia]

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[atrb=background,http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv235/Illia_the_Bat/Chimera%20Academy/hendmiddle1.png] The adrenaline was still coursing through his veins from the exciting night that he had just experienced. He was more than prepared to do this again and again tonight, as every kill left him on such a high. It was for this reason that he rarely killed only one person every night. Despite this, his mind still functioned perfectly well - for the most part, anyway - so he remained aware of the child that he was obligated to take care of. The girl wasn't making this night any easier on him by reaching out to him in her exhaustion. Instinctively, he leaned back as she moved in, though not far enough, so she was still able to wrap her arms around his neck. He looked away from her with a sigh, but moved his hands around her waist as he brought her into his arms. Hendrix was many things. A pedophile wasn't one of them. He felt nothing for the girl as he carried her down the street, as she was little more than a nuisance to his plans now. It did occur to him that he might be able to get just as many women with a sleeping child as he could with a conscious one, but he didn't dare risk it again. Not tonight, at least. This left him only to plan out his strategy for the next time he was able to use the child again, and at the same time wondering where the hell her father was now.