I'm so sorry this chapter has come so late. I've been doing so many other things that I neglected this story; one of my first and best. Please forgive me if you're actually reading this, and I'll try to do better in the future. I've made this chapter extra-long, so please take that as my apology.

I had wanted to finish this before Halloween, but didn't. Oh well, expect Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas chapters in the future. I'll probably try one for every holiday, but mostly the main stream ones like Valentine's Day, Easter, and 4th of July. Just so you all know, I live in Louisiana, and don't really care much about holidays myself, but I thought to give them a try, so if you have a holiday that is between now and the next holiday, I'll try to include it.

Also, I've been missing my glasses for the past month or so because they just suddenly disappeared on me while at school. The only reason I've been able to work on this and my other stories is because I've been doing them with my face to the screen, and the font size at 40 or something.

Chapter 11: Halloween with the Hellion Health Inspector

Riley sat down in his living room with a sigh. Tomorrow would be the first Halloween he and Huey would spend in Woodcrest. It really wasn't a big problem for him since back in Chicago, Illinois he had no true friends, but Huey did. He, Huey, and Cairo would always have a movie night together before they took him trick-or-treating. Then halfway through when they got to the cheap-ass white people, Huey and Cairo would start protesting in front of houses about the injustices of handing out non-quality candy to black kids while the white kids got the good stuff. Then when that didn't work they would start egging houses and tee-peeing stuff. Then they would all run from the cops and duck-out in a haunted house. Afterward they would go back home and eat their candy while they relived in the night's events.

Riley wasn't really that much of a sentimentalist, in fact he was probably even less of one than his elder brother, but he did feel for people on occasion. Huey was just about the only person he did it for on a regular basis back when they lived in Chicago. Now it was Huey, Jazmine, Cindy, and Phil.

Jazmine was sort of like a kid sister to him, even though the girl was older than him. From the first time he met her, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Though when she opened her mouth and spouted out some nonsense about ponies that ship had crashed. The girl was a good person, but there was no way in hell he'd be associating with pony-lovers.

Then there was Cindy. When he met her at the bus stop the first day of school, he thought she was the most beautiful girl (tying with Jazmine in his mind). She turned out to not be just any stupid white girl, but a real homie. She stood by him and shared his interests. He didn't want to admit it, but he really liked her. She was cool, but he just wasn't sure if she'd be that cool later on in life. Granddad said that after the age of eleven all girls slowly turned into crazy bitches or something like that.

Then there was Phil. Phil was… well, just Phil. He was Riley's homie, and the dude was chilled back and cool. He'd even help Riley get out of trouble by using that thing Huey called "the get out of trouble white card". Phil was like his long-lost white brother from another mother. But really, what could he say about Phil other than if the dude was a girl he'd marry him in a heartbeat. Hell, he'd still marry Phil even if he was a boy, but that thought made him feel uncomfortable every time he thought it.

"Man, what we go do this year…" Riley muttered to himself as he flopped back onto the couch.

"Get the hell outta this house, that's what! Go tell yo brother that y'all little kiddies going trick-or-treatin' tomorrow." Granddad said as he walked into the living room. Riley merely raised a brow as he gazed up at his Granddad with a skeptical look.

"And why would that be? Huey ass don't even like Woodcrest, and these white people don't know us." Riley said as Granddad gave him a look.

"Exactly; they don't know y'all little terrible asses, so it's perfect. Besides, I got a hot date to a Halloween party tomorrow, so I need yo little narrow ass outta here for the night, smart-ass." Granddad said as Riley gave him an even more skeptic look. Riley shrugged with a smirk as he hopped off the sofa and began walking toward the door.

"Alright, but you betta hope it ain't no dude like last time." Riley said as he reached the door, jetting out of it as Granddad's belt caught the doorknob and broke it off.

"Dammit, boy! Then broke my damn doorknob!"

Jazmine danced through the halls of her happy home as Huey watched her while leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, an amused smile on his face while she floated about.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Huey asked as Jazmine spun on her toes to him, moving with the grace of the experienced dancer that she was. Those dance classes and lessons really did do wonders for her…

"Tomorrow's Halloween! That means cute costumes, candy, and parties!" Jazmine said as she waved her arms about before going into a pirouette, "and the best part; tomorrow's a Saturday!"

"And why, pray tell, is that so good that you'd dance?" Huey asked as Jazmine smiled at him.

"That means we can get our costumes in the morning, trick-or-treat during the early night, and party late. It's gonna be the best Halloween ever!" Jazmine said as she danced toward Huey. Huey raised a brow, but had to uncross his arm and catch Jazmine when she jumped at him. Huey sighed in relief for being quick while he glared in annoyance at her giggling face.

"Yeah, but what I hope you don't expect me to-" Huey started, but was cut off by the doorbell. He set Jazmine on her feet and went to answer the door.

It wasn't long before she heard Huey exclaim a curse word as she moved to see who was at the door. She saw that it was Riley standing there, both him and her husband with matching scowls on their faces. She had to wonder if it and the eyebrow thing were a family-trait, or something else. She really should ask about that later…

"Hey Riley, what's got Huey and you so down?" Jazmine said as she up to stand beside her husband. Huey and Riley turned to her with an identical look of annoyance, but she could tell it wasn't aimed at her.

"Granddad is dumping Riley on us… again…" Huey started as Riley picked up where he left off.

"While his ass go on a date… again…" Riley said as they both sighed.

"Probably with a man in drag… again." both male Freeman's said with their heads bowed as they sighed again.

"Well that's… umm… not so bad. I mean the Riley being with us thing, of course. The more the merrier on Halloween." Jazmine said as she clasped her hands together.

"Why yo ass so damn happy? You even more whacked-out than usual, and that shit's saying something. You ain't on crack, is ya?" Riley said as Huey shook his head before smacking his baby brother upside his head.

"No, she's just really… really happy about Halloween… for some reason." Huey said as Jazmine puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms.

"Well, why aren't you two happy? Free candy" Jazmine said as she looked at Riley before switching her gaze to Huey, "given to you by white people."

"What do we look like? Charity cases? We don't need free candy, we can get our own." Huey said as he closed the door behind Riley while they moved into the living room.

"Besides, ain't Halloween a little scar-" Riley was saying before the phone ring. Huey looked at it and saw that it was Jazmine's mom, Sarah Dubois, which was calling them. Jazmine saw it too, and picked up the phone.

"Hey, Mommy! … no, we haven't seen Daddy…" Jazmine said with a look at Huey as he shrugged at her questioning look, "Yeah, okay… Alright… We will… Okay… I love you too, Mommy. Bye!"

"What was that all about?" Huey asked as Jazmine hung up the phone and Riley cut on the television.

"Oh, Mommy wanted to know if we saw Daddy today. Apparently he didn't come home last night from work, so she was worried. She said that if we heard anything to tell her. She wants us to come over later and see if we all can't find him or at least get a hold of him since he isn't answering his phone." Jazmine said as Riley flipped through channels. Huey sighed as he slapped Riley in the back of his head and took the remote from him. The TV stopped on the news with Huey and Jazmine turning to it, and sitting down as Riley grumbled while rubbing the back of his head.

"And in other news, city police are reporting that they have now arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of Antonin Michael, a 17 year-old who was apparently killed over a game of Madden 2006. The police are not releasing the name of the suspect, who is a black male-"

Huey changed the channel to another one, hoping that with Jazmine's dad missing there would be at least a bit of good news in the nation.

"…and so we're now raising the Terror Alert Level to Intense Orange-Red. This decision is based on very creditable, detailed information on a non-specific threat. Could it be a hijacking? Absolutely possible. Chemical or biological agent? You bet it could happen. Suicide bomber? Hey, ya never know. But what we do know is that it's absolutely, positively gonna happen today, maybe."

Before Huey could do anything more than turn off the TV, having had enough of America's stupidity, Jazmine let out an ear-piercing scream while tears waterfall from her eyes. Riley cover his ears as he and Huey looked at Jazmine with annoyed expressions.

"Jazmine, what the hell has gotten into you?" Huey asked as Jazmine sobbed before latching herself around his middle and crying into his shirt.

"T-Terrorists have m-my Daddy!" Jazmine exclaimed through her sobs and tears as Huey gave her a stern look.

"Jazmine! Calm down!" Huey snapped as Jazmine tried to sedate her fears.

"But he's gone missing, Huey. Mommy even called and said he hadn't come home last night. Normally he's at home before school lets out. And we're a Terror Alert Level Orange, Huey. Orange!" Jazmine yelled as Huey took a hold of her shoulders and shook her lightly.

"Now just because our government has the nation at Terror-" Huey tried calmly, but Jazmine's deep seeded issues with terrorism took over once again.

"Terrorists kidnapped my father and they're g-going to c-cut off his h-head in A-Algeria!" Jazmine exclaimed in horror as Huey and Riley exchanged looks. Huey pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as he tried hard to remain the calm one, and not snap at her.

"Jazmine, just because your dad is late coming home from work doesn't mean that-" Huey said, but was interrupted by the phone. Riley saw his brother about to lose his cool, and hurriedly answered the phone while Huey turned to Jazmine and tried to calm her down.

"Hello?" Riley greeted rudely as he heard sniffling on the other side of the line. He hoped it wasn't that bitch from Kansas trying holla at Huey again.

Because if it was, then he'd simply have to politely hand the phone over to Jazmine and watch a bitch get cussed out like a pro…

"Riley! Is that you? Put your brother on, it's an emergency." Tom said franticly as Riley rolled his eyes. Nigga went missing less than five minutes ago, and now his bitch ass calling? Oh hell naw…

"What's the emergency?" Riley asked with obvious disinterest, but Tom ignored the tone in light of his situation.

"I'm in j-jail!" Tom said as Riley paused for a moment. That was, before he burst into laughter. When Riley finally calmed down, he saw that Huey and Jazmine were looking at him weirdly. Oh he had just the perfect way to fuck up all the rest of Huey's weekend and get an adventure out of it.

"Don't drop the soap." Riley said with amusement in his voice before he abruptly hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Huey asked as Riley gave him an aloof look. Huey narrowed his eyes, knowing that it had to have been something important, and that Riley was up to something.

The phone rang again, and before Huey could act Riley had already snatched the phone up, already knowing who it had to be.

"Yeah?"

"Riley! It's Tom!"

"Nigga, I thought you only get one phone call from jail." Riley said as Huey quickly snatched the phone from him in his mild confusion.

"Who's this?" Huey asked, not caring to put on a show. He knew that the last time Riley had played on his phone Jazmine had almost been sold into child labor somewhere.

"Huey, I got arrested! They say I fit the description. I think it's 'cause I'm black Huey! You have to get me out of here Huey. You don't wanna know what they'll d-do to me in j-jail." Tom said, trying to get in his story before Huey decided to do like Riley and hang up the phone.

"They'll rape you that's what they're gonna do. But you're not in jail, you're in holding, and I don't think people usually get raped in holding. Want me to find out? I could ask my Granddad, if-" Huey said as he glanced at Jazmine, who burst into tears as she heard something about "rape" and "holding". Was Huey negotiating with the terrorists that took her Daddy? We're the terrorist gonna rape her father before they cut off his head or after? Jazmine burst into more sobs as she thought about it.

"Stop, stop, stop! I don't want your granddad to know. I don't want anybody to know. Listen, they can't keep people in holding over the weekend. At nine o'clock tonight, they're going to put me on a bus and send me to real jail. Real jail! Earliest I can get out would be on Monday." Tom said as Huey raised a brow before shrugging.

"Well, it's just the weekend-" Huey said before Tom snapped on him

"It only takes one night to get anally raped! Huey, the only way for me to get out of here is if you find the real killer tonight." Tom said as Huey gave the phone a look. What the hell did Tom think he was; Super-nigga?

"The real killer? Nigga, I'm ten! How the hell am I gonna find the 'real' killer?" Huey said as Tom started crying over the line.

"P-Please, Huey! You gotta try… I'm yo D-Daddy-in-Law!" Tom sobbed out as Huey sighed and held up a hand.

"Alright, alright, alright… Damn." Huey said in an annoyed tone. There went his entire evening…

"T-Thank y-you, Huey. W-Whatever you do, d-don't tell my baby Jazmine, or Sarah. I don't want them to know I was somebody's b-bitch!" Tom said through his trying not to cry before he finally started weeping into the phone as Huey rolled his eyes and hung it up. Damn drama queen…

"Was that Daddy? Where is he? Is he okay? Was he kidnapped by terrorists? Are they raping him?" Jazmine asked frantically as she hoped Huey would have all the answers from those evil, heartless people.

Huey could only give her a slightly confused look as he didn't know what to tell her. So he settled for…

"Umm… your father wants you to know he's nobody's bitch." Huey said unsurely as Jazmine started crying on him again as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Huey and Riley exchanged looks as Riley shrugged and cut the TV back on with the remote, putting it on BET.

"Come one, Riley." Huey said as Riley looked at him stupid, though he did cut the TV back off and got up.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jazmine asked as Huey glanced back at her from where he was at the door putting on his coat.

"Costume shopping." Huey said as Riley grinned and rubbed his hands together.

"Listen, Jazmine. Go wait with your mom at her house." Huey said as Riley walked out the open door, muttering excitedly to himself, "If I don't come back… You know that I love you, right?"

"Of course, Huey…" Jazmine said as she hugged him.

"Good, because I do." Huey said as he hugged her back before walking out the door.

Jazmine watched him go with a single true tear rolling down from her eye down her cheek. Huey was going to go save her Daddy from the terrorists in Algeria. She only hoped that he came back alive like in all of her dreams…

"So, where we going?" Riley asked as Huey caught up with him, looking at his cell phone for the time.

"I have exactly… nine hours to find a murder, and I can't do it alone." Huey said as he put his phone away.

"Correction, nigga; we have nine hours to find a killer. You know I got yo back like chiroprac." Riley said as Huey smiled at him and nodded.

"So, got anyone else in mind, because even with the two of us-"

"Oh! I got the perfect nigga for this!" Riley said as he took Huey's arm and dragged him down the street.

"Ed the Third is heir to the Wuncler fortune." Riley said as they sat in Ed room while Ed contemplated whether to help them or not.

"Yeah, but he's mostly a drunken psychopath." Huey whispered back harshly.

"Maybe, but the dude we lookin' for already then killed a nigga, and ain't nobody got mo firepower than Ed." Riley countered as Huey sighed in defeat.

"Fuck it! I'll help y'all little niggas. I say we go get the mutha-fucka." Ed said as Huey looked up at him. Well this was all going smoother than he thought. If Ed already knew where the guy was and all.

"Where're we going?" Huey said as Ed glanced back at him.

"Oh we go need to holla at my man." Ed answered back. Huey looked to Riley, who shrugged in confusion as they both followed Ed.

It wasn't long before Ed had driven them to a normal looking house in the middle of the neighborhood. In fact it was only about two or three streets from their Huey's own house. Ed walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. A man of about Ed's height and build opened the door with an apron and a spatula, but what Huey noticed first was the gun the guy had stealth fully slipped back into one of his many cargo pockets. Huey also noticed that Ed had seen the gun to, but apparently wasn't to worried about it when he saw that the guy recognized him.

"Oh, snap! Ed Wuncler the Third!" the guy said as he and Ed hugged each other brotherly.

"My man, Gin Rummy! What's good, man?" Ed said as they ended their hug and looked at each other. The guy seemed to hide his sneaky glances at Huey and Riley well, because Huey caught only one of them which had been aimed directly at his own eyes. The guy seemed to recognize something about him and Riley, because Huey saw the slight widening of his eyes.

"It's all good, baby. I was just makin' some breakfast; come on in." The guy, Gin Rummy, said as he stepped aside to allow them in.

Huey and Riley look at each other confusedly before they followed in after Ed, who seemed to have no hesitation in entering the guy's house and settling in. Huey and Riley stood in the middle of the guy's kitchen. Rummy (as he wanted to be called) walked into the kitchen after a moment and resumed his cooking, cracking two eggs into a pan to fry them sunny-side up. Ed and Rummy started speaking in some form of code as they muttered amongst themselves, though both were stealing glances at Huey and Riley. Huey could easily tell that the two were glancing back at them from the stove, and Riley must have to since he couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Sounds to me like you got yourselves a fugitive of justice. I say you came to the right hombre." Rummy said as Huey raised a brow. He decided that if he reached into his pocket around the guy he might get shot, so he simply glanced at his watch for the time.

"Look, we have exactly eight hours and forty-five minutes to find the X-Box Killer. Can you help us do it?" Huey said, cutting through all the crap as Rummy and Ed's eyes seemed to sharpen like knives at his bluntness.

"I'd be dead on his ass like Spenser For fuckin' Hire. I'll hunt him down and feed him his own testicles, and I'll do it in a jiffy. And I don't care if his mama there, his grandmamma, innocent bystanders, little kids, baby-sitters, bill collectors. Whatever! I'll leave his whole block filled with hot brass if I have to. And you know why? Because I just don't give a fuck!" Rummy said, steadily getting louder and more dramatic as he went on. The yolks on his eggs seemed to burst from his intense mood, and just like that Rummy returned to being perfectly calm, "Y'all sure you don't want no breakfast? I got some English muffins and peach jelly." Rummy asked kindly as Huey and Riley were staring at him. Was this guy insane or just plain bi-polar? Ed came from the side, where he must have stepped off to for Rummy to have his moment, and approached Huey and Riley, slang his arms over their shoulders while they were still slightly bewildered from Rummy's rant.

"See? I told you my boy was gangsta! Hey man, put some links with them grits, Rummy. Shit, I'm hungry as a mutha-fucka!" Ed said as he moved past the two Freeman brothers.

After a the hour long breakfast, they were all walking out of the house and into Ed's truck when Rummy turned around in his seat to look back at Huey and Riley.

"I just realized I ain't neva got y'all names." Rummy said as Huey narrowed his eyes and Riley glanced sideways at him.

"Huey and Riley Freeman." Huey said as he gesture to himself and his brother. Rummy's eyes seemed to brighten up a bit as he held out his hands.

"Nice to meet y'all little niggas. Name's Gin Rummy, like the drinks, but everybody calls me Rummy." Rummy said as he shook Huey's hand firmly and dapped Riley off afterward.

"Now let's roll." Rummy said as he turned in his seat and sat correctly.

"To where?" Huey said as Rummy gazed at him from over his shoulder with a grin.

"It's Halloween, my brother. We got to be incognito." Rummy replied coolly as Ed drove off, GPS-ing the closest costume shop in town.

Meanwhile in holding, Tom was scarred out of his wits. They had placed him in the interrogation room as he cried to the two detectives in front of him. He had just been slapped twice by the white cop, who had been sent out to "cool off" and now the black cop was "speaking real" with him and trying to coax him into admitting to a crime he didn't commit by "showing the real side" of him, using the old "good cop, bad cop" routine. Tom would have shook his head and rolled his eyes…

If he wasn't the one they were using it on! Now though, he knew just how effective this tactic was when the person didn't want to be sent to anal-raping jail!

"Why are you doing this to me?" Tom said while bawling his eyes out as the interrogator sat in front of him getting comfy.

"You know what this is man. It's fuckin' racism, man. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time and you just happen to fit the description. Now, if you admit that you killed him…" The cop said as Tom snapped.

"But I didn't kill anyone!" Tom insisted as the interrogator didn't even bat an eyelash at the man's sudden outburst. He'd give this guy ten minutes at the most…

"Look, even if you didn't kill anyone, just admit that you killed him. I promise you won't go to jail. Smack on the wrist, I promise you." the interrogator said smoothly as Tom could practically feel himself being coaxed into the lies while thoughts of non-anal rape filled his head. Tom shook those thoughts away as he gave the cop a sharp look.

"W-wait, stop this. You can't be serious. I'm a prosecutor, I'm never gonna fall for this." Tom said as the detective raised a brow. Yup, ten minutes…

"S-So, you say that if I confess, I w-won't go to j-jail?" Tom said in-between sobs while the interrogator mentally applauded himself. It had been the hardest fought battle, but he got his ten minute mark.

"I give you my word." the guy said with so much faked conviction that Tom mentally started preparing for what he'd do after Huey caught the real killer.

"N-no anal rape?" Tom said as the guy gave him a compassionate look.

"No anal rape." the cop said as Tom smiled at him through tears and a runny nose. He'd be getting rich off this city soon…

"Why the hell am I Morpheus from the Matrix?" Huey asked as he, Riley, Rummy, and Ed got back into Ed's Explorer.

"Because, on this team you represent wisdom and knowledge." Rummy said as if it was obvious, and while Huey loved the Matrix, he didn't want to be labeled as the one important black dude throughout the two movies.

"And I'm…?" Riley said, gesturing to his own costume.

"Oh my man, you be Colonel Roy Mustang. I don't know who the nigga was, but his ass sounded cool when the woman was trynna sell us the costume." Ed said as he started the truck up and drove off.

"So what are you two?" Huey asked as Ed and Rummy glanced back at him.

"We mobsters, Huey. You know, like the Italian." Rummy replied.

"Right…" Huey said dryly with a roll of his eyes. Damn idiots…

"So… y'all was in Iraq together?" Riley asked suddenly when it became too quiet during the drive.

"Yeah, we was in Iraq." Rummy responded as he glanced out the window as if looking into far-off memories. He always hated talking about that time in his life, but he wouldn't let it show while these kids were around him…

"What did you do?" Riley asked as Huey gave him a look.

"We was looking for weapons of mass destruction." Rummy replied easily enough as Riley had a small smirk on his face,, but suppressed his mirth well. Huey only shook his head as he was sure his brother would be getting into something he couldn't handle.

"… Did you ever find them?" Riley asked as Rummy rounded on him from the passenger seat, a mad gleam of anger in his eye while Ed gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands.

"You know goddamn well we ain't find 'em. What are you some kinda political humorist? You Garry Trudeau up in this bitch?" Rummy roared as Huey actually blinked in surprise at the very sudden burst of emotion from the guy, but then cooled himself as he remembered the scene in the guy's own kitchen. Ed took a calming breath as he turned a street and glanced at the boys in the back using his rear-view mirror.

"I was lookin' for bitches but they had that carpet shit all over them and I couldn't see what they look like. All that was really exposed was the eyes and that wasn't enough for me, cause you know shit I'm lookin' at the eyes, the eyes be pretty and I take the carpet off and then I got a tragedy." Ed said, a smirk on his face as he and Rummy exchanged glances. It was an inside joke that was lost on both Huey and Riley, but seemed to calm Rummy down somewhat.

"But nah, we ain't find 'em. But, I always say the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence." Rummy said, though the tension in his voice had Huey a bit worried for Riley's habit of annoying crazy niggas for fun.

"What?" Riley asked, genuinely confused by Rummy's logic.

"Simply because you don't have evidence that something does exist does not mean that you have evidence that something doesn't exist."

"What?" Riley asked, still confused, but more mirthful by getting on Rummy's nerves.

"What country you from?" Rummy asked suddenly as Riley blinked.

"What?" Riley asked, confused by the change in conversation.

"What ain't no country I ever heard of. They speak English in What?" Rummy asked as Huey glanced over at Riley. Though Riley looked confused, and even somewhat scared Huey knew his brother better. Riley must have been dying of laughter on the inside.

"What?" Riley asked again as Rummy seemed to be on his last strand of patience.

"ENGLISH, MUTHA-FUCKER! DO YOU SPEAK IT!" Rummy roared as Huey glanced over at him, seeing the vein in his forehead pulsing in annoyance.

"Y-Yeah!" Riley said in a timid voice, obviously trying to hold in his mirth.

"So you understand the words I'm sayin' to you?" Rummy said as Riley nodded.

"Y-Yeah…!" Riley said as he stole a glance at Huey, who was looking out the window with a bored expression. That nigga wasn't even paying attention!

"Well what I'm sayin' is that there are known-knowns and that there are known-unknowns but there's also unknown-unknowns. Things we don't know that we don't know." Rummy said as Riley decided to push him even further to see if Huey would react.

"...What?"

"SAY WHAT AGAIN! SAY WHAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU! I DOUBLE DARE YOU, MUTHA-FUCKER! SAY WHAT ONE MORE TIME!" Rummy roared as Riley stole another glance at Huey, who was still looking just as aloof as before while he looked out his car-side window.

"Stop here." Huey instructed as Riley turned to him fully. Ed nodded to him and pulled over while Rummy glanced out the window, his earlier tirade forgotten in the face of "the mission".

"What the-? Nigga, did you not hear anything that just went on?" Riley asked as Huey pointed up a large apartment complex while they were all getting out of the automobile.

"This is the apartment complex where it all happened. Maybe someone saw something." Huey said, ignoring Riley as Ed scoffed.

"Oh, someone saw something alright." Ed said as he cocked his gun.

"Aye, slow down. We gotta be tactful." Huey said diplomatically as he stopped Ed and Rummy. Ed looked at him in confusion while Rummy looked miffed about not simply shooting people.

"Tactful? What that mean?" Ed asked as Huey rolled his eyes.

"He talkin' about diplomacy." Rummy said before he readied his rifle for shooting, "I don't do diplomacy."

"Are you sure it's safe for Huey to be out searching for your father by himself, Jazmine?" Sarah asked her daughter as she sat down a tray of sandwiches for them to eat.

"He's not alone. He's got Riley with him, and I know Riley wouldn't let anything happen to Huey." Jazmine said as Sarah smiled at her daughter, but still couldn't help but worry for the lives of her son-in-law and his brother.

"Yes, but don't you worry for him? He's only ten years-old, and so are you." Sarah said as she sat next to her daughter on the couch. Jazmine placed her hands in her lap as she looked down at them.

"Mommy… is it bad to worry about him when he goes off to do something and leaves without telling me much?" Jazmine asked as Sarah looked at her in surprise, but her face melted into a serene expression as she took her daughter's hands in her own.

"No, baby, it's a sign that you love him. We're only human, Jazmine, so it's okay for us to worry about the people we love when they're off somewhere doing anything. That's why I'm worried about your dad, and why you're worried about Huey. Love makes us worried about them." Sarah said as Jazmine hugged her.

"I love you, Mommy." Jazmine said as Sarah hugged her daughter back with a smile.

"I love you too, Jazmine." Sarah said as she and Jazmine hugged.

"We have a special news bulletin. Breaking news reports that two men are about an apartment complex. The two have been seen shooting, and looking about for the X-Box Killer. Police say that these two seem to disappear as soon as they arrive on the scene. Some eye-witnesses claim these two fugitives are outlaws of justice, while others claim that they are simply rabble-rousers bullying citizens. No one seems to know the identity of the two, but claim that they have kicked in doors, stolen from people, and "curb-stomped" one individual. And in other news-"

"I hope Huey and Tom isn't anywhere near those two." Sarah said as she cut off the television.

"I'm sure Huey will be just fine if those two get in his way. He's Huey after all." Jazmine said as she got off the couch and went upstairs to the bathroom to wash up for dinner.

"Even Huey isn't infallible, Jazmine…" Sarah said to herself as she gazed down at her own wedding ring and twisting it in thought.

"Ain't nobody seen nothing…" Rummy said as he got into the passenger seat of Ed's explorer. Huey's brow twitched as he sat forward in his seat, having sat in the truck for almost a full hour after he and Riley had been done with their investigation.

"I already know who did the killing. I've known for twenty minutes. Guy's name is Terrell Jackson, he's been bragging about it all day. Everybody knows. He lives five minutes away. I've got MapQuest directions right here." Huey said as he held up the printed page he got from the nearby library nearly three hours ago.

"How'd you find all this out?" Ed asked in surprise as Huey looked agitated for some reason. Nigga probably needed to get laid…

"We've talked to people!" Huey snapped as Ed shrugged while he exchanged looks with Rummy.

"I got a picture." Riley said suddenly as he held up a drawn photo of a black man.

"Where you get that? It's good… like, really good!" Rummy said as he took the picture from Riley and showed it to Ed.

"I drew it from the description of the dude that they gave us while y'all was whuppin' niggas' asses in the street. I almost had time to color it." Riley said as Ed handed him back his picture.

"S-Shit, good work!" Rummy said excitedly while he and Ed shared another look, "Let's go!"

Ed drove down the streets as Huey read the MapQuest directions off the page to him.

"We've got two hours left to catch this guy, so take a right here, and it's a left at the light." Huey said as Ed nodded, but took an unexpected left instead. Huey glanced back at the street they were supposed to turn down and looked at Ed in confusion, "Where you goin'? You were supposed to turn right."

"I'm thirsty. You thirsty?" Ed said as Rummy caught the glance and gleam in Ed's eye. They were about to have a little fun before becoming heroes once again.

"I could use a tasty beverage." Rummy said as Huey narrowed his eyes.

"There's a mini-mart at the gas station right up the street." Ed said as he drove.

"We're down the street from the killer, and you wanna go get snacks?" Huey asked in disbelief while Rummy turned to him and smiled at him.

"Relax, Morpheus my man. We stop, get this drink, and then go get the killer. Simple." Rummy said as Huey still gave them an unbelieving look.

"We just go get something to drink, it ain't go take long." Ed said as Huey looked even more annoyed with their stupidity. When the hell did getting drinks and such go before catching a murder?

"We're right down the street. We know where he is." Huey said with emphasis as he made hand gestures to convey his point. Riley and him exchanged looks as Riley shrugged in indifference.

"Chill… We're just making a little detour. Relax, man. What could go wrong?" Rummy said as Huey sighed in defeat. There was no point in arguing with the ignorant.

"Is there at least a pay phone at this place…?" Huey asked as he hung his head in defeat while Rummy and Ed exchanged glances and smirks of victory.

"Excuse me, do you have a phone I can use?" Huey asked the clerk, who was sitting behind the counter watching the CNN News while they did a report on the Terror Alert level. The guy looked at him before smiling kindly and pointing toward the back of the store.

"It in the back near the coolers." the clerk said as Huey nodded his thanks to the man. Ed and Rummy were already in the back of the store debating on what drinks to get before they started unloading liquor cartons with Riley watching them. Huey sighed and shook his head while he scraped the spare change from his pocket and paid for his call.

"Hello, this is Huey Freeman. I have a tip on the X-box Killer case. Okay… Mhmm-Hmm… I understand… Yes, okay… Alright, I'll hold." Huey said as he looked down at his nails before looking toward Ed and Rummy moving toward the register with their eyes glancing between the cop that had walked in and the clerk, "Alright ma'am, the X-box Killer is…"

Rummy and Ed watched the officer closely as he read a magazine. They glanced forward and saw that the clerk had stood up with a smile on his face as he waited for them at the register.

"Watch my back, I got yo front." Rummy said quietly to Ed as the Wuncler heir nodded while he and Rummy placed the cartons of liquor on the store counter. The clerk smiled widely at them and opened his arms in a friendly manner as he gazed at the two men.

"Hey, Ed, Rummy my close friends and allies it is good to see you!" the clerk said jovially with his arms slightly raised to better express his happiness at seeing them. Huey glanced up from his phone conservation, and saw that the two idiots were looking just as suspicious as they had been all day while they kept glancing about.

Ed handed Riley two of the cartons, looking him right in the eye as he spoke.

"Go put that in the truck." Ed said as Riley nodded and did as he was told. Huey wanted to roll his eyes at just how oblivious Riley was to the idiocy of his "friends".

"Hey slow your roll, chief. You guys have to pay for that first." the clerk said in a joking manner as Riley stopped at the door while the clerk was speaking.

"Damn! Chill out Aladdin Hussein. You know I'm good for it." Ed said defensively as the clerk chuckled, probably taking Ed's attitude as a joke.

"Hey guys, you know the rules. No exceptions, cash only." the clerk said with a playful wag of his finger.

Ed and Rummy looked back at the cop in the store, who looked up from his magazine and gave them all a friendly smile.

"Look, he got a weapon!" Ed yelled as Huey had just gotten off the phone with the police and was speaking to Jazmine. Ed pulled out his hand-gun, and pointed it at the clerk, who like Riley and Huey, was wide-eyed and surprised by the swiftness of the sudden action.

"Huey? You still there?" Jazmine said from the on the other end of the line while Huey cursed under his breath.

"Yeah, I'm here, but I gotta go now, Jazmine." Huey said quickly as Jazmine blinked from where she was in her mom's living room.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Jazmine asked worriedly as Huey watched the officer hurriedly drop the magazine he had been reading, and point his gun at Rummy and Ed.

"No, just fighting terrorist and stupidity. I love you. Call you when I'm done. See you when I get home. Love you, bye." Huey said faster than even he thought possible as Rummy reached into his own trench coat from his mobster costume.

This was about to turn into the second to worst day before Halloween Huey had ever known…

"Whoa, wait a minute now," Rummy said smoothly as he whipped out his own gun, a M-16 to be exact if Riley knew his weaponry, aiming the targeting laser at the clerk's forehead, "Put the gun down."

"Gun? What gun? I'm not holding gun. Guys it's me. Ed, your father help me build this store." The clerk said hurriedly as he tried to see the joke in the whole thing, but at Ed and Rummy's serious faces he knew there was none to be had. They were really trying to get him…

Rummy glanced back at the cop, only to see that the officer was now holding his own gun at him and Ed while the clerk had raised his arm to show that he was unarmed. He smirked mentally as he looked back at the clerk, "Well I don't know you, mutha-fucker! Now, put down the weapon; put it down!"

"There is no weapon, look!" the clerk said in a wild panic for his life as he flailed his arms. He knew all about the Wuncler short-temper, and didn't want to get on that side of it, though he could see that logic and common sense were failing him in the face of Ed Wuncler the Third.

"Drop the weapon!" Rummy

(Trembling nervously.) "I… I don't see a weapon!" the officer said nervously, his entire body trembling. They had never gone over anything like this in the Police Academy…!

"There is no weapon, they're robbing the store!" Huey shouted at the cop, pointing at Ed and Rummy as he moved to the front of the store and grabbed Riley, who allowed his elder brother to do whatever kept them alive.

(Pleading) "I am not holding a weapon!" the clerk pleaded as he closed his eyes and looked away, hoping not to get shot in the face, "I am not holding a weapon!"

"Officer, this mutha-fucker got a gun pointed at you! You wanna die!" Rummy yelled at the cop without taking his eyes off of the clerk, who looked ready to piss himself.

"What?" the cop yelled in a panic as his eyes widened. D-Die…?

"Do you wanna die!" Rummy yelled slowly at the frightened cop, who was trying very hard to pull himself together in the fear that he might die, even though he didn't see a weapon.

But, what if he was wrong, and there was a weapon…?

"I… I don't wanna die!" the cop yelled, his fear of death overwhelming him as his hands shook violently at his paranoia.

"He does not have a gun!" Huey yelled at the cop, who looked to be having an internal mental battle with his fears and logic raging war. Huey could only hope the cop wasn't another person to fall prey to their fears. So yeah, Huey wasn't hoping that hard, and already started moving himself and Riley to behind the shelves.

"He does have a gun, trust me! The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence!" Rummy yelled, glancing back at the cop. If all went well, then tonight would be the most fun he had ever had since the war…

"I… I don't see a gun!" the cop yelled, his rational mind trying very hard to employ logic.

"Man, fuck this shit!" Ed yelled suddenly, whipping out a second gun before anyone could blink and taking aim at the officer with practiced ease, "Whose side you on? Mine, or this mutha-fucker who's obviously of terrorist descent?"

The officer gave pause for a moment, his mind going into overload at the mention of terrorist, who would kill him and destroy his country. Finally, with a new resolve, he pointed his hand-gun at the clerk, "W-Wait, I t-think I can s-see the gun now!"

Rummy mentally smirked as he knew fear would get the perfectly rational on his side. It was all too easy to manipulate rookies. Rummy climbed atop the store counter for dramatic effect, and trained his gun on the on the clerk a mere foot away from the man's head, "Good! Now we all see the weapon! Now you hand over that weapon on the count of three, or I swear to almighty "GOD", I'll blow your fuckin' head off! One!"

"I can't give you a weapon I'm not holding! You're thinking of the Korean shop! It's just north of here!" the clerk yelled in a last ditch attempt to calm them, or at least get them to stop. A part of his mind played over the idea that this was all a joke, and that he'd be told he was on camera like that Punk'd! show.

"Two!" Rummy said as the cop blinked, his body still trembling as he glanced from Rummy to the clerk repeatedly.

"Is he… still holding it!" the cop asked in fear only to be ignored.

"He is not holding a weapon!" Huey yelled from by the shelf he and Riley were already hidden behind. It made no sense that any of this was happening, but like most of the things in Woodcrest, was gonna happen whether Huey voiced his logical opinion or not.

"Times up!" Rummy yelled as he and Ed cocked their guns while the clerk gulped and ducked under the counter just as Ed and Rummy opened fire on him. The hail of bullets lasted a whole thirty seconds before a loud bang was heard by the door in the back of the store being kicked open by the other Middle Eastern store workers, who had their own guns out and ready.

Huey didn't even bother looking at the gun battle that was happening around him and his brother. Though when the officer dropped to the floor in a heap and Rummy ducked behind a shelf for shelter he gave the blond his best glare.

"I didn't think that they'd actually shoot back at us." Rummy said as though that wasn't even a possibility. Huey didn't think it was possible for his glare to get any better, but Rummy's stupidity intensified it more as he scowl at the older male.

"Well of course they're shooting back at us! You're robbing their store!" Huey yelled over the gun fire.

"You can't assume that people are going to shoot back at you! It was an Unknown-Unknown!" Rummy said before he shot at the store workers some more.

"Need I remind you that this has nothing to do with our original plan!" Huey yelled, just to get a point across as Rummy only glanced at him.

"Dammit, Huey! Robbery etiquette says that you can't criticize a robbery plan during the actual robbery. You have to wait 'til the robbery's over." Rummy said as Huey only gaped at him for a second. Was this fool-?

"Yo, Officer… whatever your name is."

"My name's Frank." the downed officer replied easily enough. Huey narrowed his eyes as he picked up one of the bullets that had been shot. Blanks, he should have known…

"Okay, Fred... whatever. Look, I want you to know, you are not going to die… in vain." Rummy said dramatically to the cop who looked at himself in relief.

"I don't think I'm dying." Frank said as he touched the spot where the bullets had hit him. The skin was badly bruised and some spots were broken, but otherwise he was okay.

"Oh well, I want you to know you weren't mortally wounded… in vain." Rummy said as Frank got up.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna make it." Frank said as he checked himself over. Ed didn't really care much about what they were saying, but took that moment to be dramatic in his own right.

"You hear that, you sweaty bastards! Freddy ain't dead, Freddy say bring it on, bitch! Bring it!" Ed yelled as he unleashed a rain of bullets upon the workers.

Huey sighed to himself as Riley was curled up beside him. Huey couldn't even remember why he went on this crazy escapade with Riley's friends.

Oh wait, it had been for Jazmine… Huey sighed again as he looked up at the clock. Tom and Jazmine had better appreciate it all, because if he got shot before the day was through, he'd kill someone.

It wasn't long before sirens were heard outside and Huey knew that with that the news crews would not be far behind. He wondered briefly what Jazmine was doing…

"And there appears to be a gun-battle with terrorists right behind me, Jim. Four males fighting against them with an officer aiding them in their struggle. One of the males was identified as Ed Wuncler the Third and his friend, Gin Rummy. Another fighting the war on terrorism, is Colonel Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist! Witnesses say that Colonel Mustang has been sighted in the area previous to the battle now, and has been looking for the X-Box Killer. Not twenty minutes earlier the X-Box was apprehended by the police after a tip-off by a local resident who refused to give their name to the station. Back to the battle at hand though, with our Woodcrest A-Team and fighting terrorism is also Huey Freeman, a known political deviant that expresses extremely radical views. However, Jim, it would seem that Mr. Huey Freeman's views on patriotism and freedom are not so radical after all. Now over to you, Jim." the TV's local news reported as Jazmine and her mother Sarah sat in front of it with wide eyes. Jazmine was in tears by the time her mother switched off the television.

G-Guns…? He didn't… He didn't say anything about guns, Mommy…. He could… He could be hurt, or killed! We need to go save him!" Jazmine said in pure terror as her wide and tearful eyes gazed upon her mother. Sarah was quick to hug her daughter close to her as her own mind tried to work out how Huey got caught up in his situation.

"Shh… It'll be okay, Jazmine… I'm sure he'll be just fine. Huey's strong, remember? He can handle himself…" Sarah said as she rocked her only child. Sarah's crystal blue eyes flickered back to the TV in worry and fright.

"Tom, where are you…? Huey, be safe… For both Jazmine and me… Please, bring my Tom back to me…" Sarah thought, hoping against all hope that both males would come back to them alright.

"Freeze, put your hands in the air!" Huey was startled out of his thinking when he heard the glass doors shatter and officer pouring into the small convenience store. The cops quickly subduded the workers as Huey and Riley got up to stretch.

"Colonel Mustang, sir!" the officers said as they placed handcuffs on the clerk and his fellow employees. The cops saluted once they had finished while Huey raised a brow until he remembered they were still in costumes and the officers were looking at Riley.

"Umm… at ease…" Riley said awkwardly after a nudge from Huey. The officers did as told and quickly went about gathering evidence and such while Huey, Riley, and Ed were guided out of the store. Frank the Cop had to be taken out on a stretcher, apparently taking too many blanks was a really bad thing… Who knew?

"Colonel, sir! We have all the terrorists captured. What are your orders?" a female officer said while they were walking through the door.

"Umm…" Riley looked to Huey as his older brother rolled his eyes and began whispering things in his ear, "Umm… hold them for questioning, and then after a month long sentence realease them…"

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?"

"Are you questioning the Colonel and Morpheus? We've been fighting the evils of terrorism since before you were born!" Huey said dramatically as he placed his shades on, "Now then, we need to… Umm… get back into the Matrix and fight the leaders of this little distraction. Do as we said, because these were merely pawns in the grand scheme of things. There are bigger fish to fry, and all that good stuff."

"Yes sir, Mr. Morpheus! Please forgive me for questioning your wisdom! Also sir, I loved you in the first movie, but I felt that the second was trying too hard, sir!"

"What did you say?" Huey asked, feeling that if he was gonna be in this mess he might as well make some people squirm.

"I said that the second movie was trying to hard, sir! It clearly used special effects and action sequences too much! It distracted from the main point of the movie, sir!"

"… You have a good eye on you, officer. Don't squander it, you understand?" Huey said as the female cop straighten up with a blush on her cheeks.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"At ease." Huey said as he jerked Riley along and away from the front of the store where people were snapping pictures and trying to get information out of them.

"Look, it's the Colonel!" Huey cringed as he glanced back at the anime fans. It just had to be anime fans…

"We love you, Colonel Mustang!"

"Where's Lieutenant Hawkeye, Colonel?"

"Why are you with Morpheus from the Matrix?"

"The Matrix sucked! You guys were trying way too hard to be cool and get people to stay interested! Stop kidnapping Colonel Mustang!"

"Maybe they're secret lovers? Yaoi is so amazing!"

"We love you, Roy and Morph! We won't expose your love!"

"Did they just say…? What the…?" Riley sputtered out as his cheeks heated up.

"Ignore them, or else." Huey growled as he kept a grip on his brother's arm and never stopped walking for even a moment.

Damn the anime fans to hell… and the yaoi-shippers!

"Huey! You're home! Wait, why are you dressed in leather and sunglasses?" Jazmine asked as she opened the door to her husband. She had been about to fling her arms around his neck and hug him to death for getting her dad back from the terrorists, but she took a look at his appearance and decided to question it.

"Not now Jazmine… Just… not now…" Huey said as he moved passed his wife into their home. He shrugged off his leather trench-coat and sunglasses, and kicked off his combat boots.

"Okay then… so, what are we doing for Halloween to-"

"Nothing! We're not going out into that crazy world until school! I just had to deal with idiocy at it's best, Jazmine. Please, I just want a quiet evening at home with my wife." Huey said with a sigh as he trudged up the stairs to their bedroom, collapsing into their bed like a heap of bricks.

Those fangirls just wouldn't stop…

Jazmine blinked in surprise as she saw him. He looked so drained and tired that she just couldn't whine about what he had said. Besides, she could always go with Cindy or someone else. But… the prospect of a quiet evening all alone with Huey sounded better than it normally would to her. It was like he was saying that the only person he wanted to see was her.

Jazmine smiled as she moved away from the doorway and into their bedroom to sit next to Huey's downed form on the bed.

"Okay Huey, it'll be just you and me at home tomorrow." Jazmine said as she leant down and kissed his temple, "What are we gonna do then?"

Huey, feeling his eyes growing heavy on him, took off his top shirt and his pants. He tossed back the covers and got in under them while Jazmine crawled over to her side of the bed. Huey snuggled into the bed and sheets, getting comfy while Jazmine watched him.

"I'll think of something… I'm sorry, but tomorrow is not a day I wanna go out…" Huey said between yawns, fighting sleep so he could talk to Jazmine, "I'll make it special… I promise…"

"Just get some sleep, Huey. I'm sure you'll make it a day to remember." Jazmine said as Huey's eyes fully closed and his face eased into peace.

"Thank you… for understanding… Jazmine… I love… you…" Huey said, finally falling into a peaceful sleep as Jazmine laid next to him with a smile. Holidays like Halloween were fun, but being with Huey could only make them better. So, with that Jazmine leaned over Huey and kissed his forehead with a sincere smile.

"Love you too, Huey."

So, how was that? Sucked, didn't it? I know, I should have done better, but my eye-sight is a little (alot!) impaired right now. However, on a more positive note, I've already done more than hlaf of Chapter 12 already, so that one should be coming out soon enough. I hope this chapter didn't suck bad enough to make you guys give up on the story, because there's a lot of good stuff to come.

Huey and Jazmine's first Thanksgiving and Chirstmas together? Will Jazmine be able to get Huey inside of a church? How will Jazmine handle all of Huey's responisbles if he falls sick (for the first time since ever!)? How will Huey take to Jazmine wanting a slumper party? Alll this good stuff and more.

Also, if you have any suggests for chapter ideas or sceneoris, then please feel free to PM me or leave your ideas in your review. Thanks for reading, and have a happy holiday or normal day.

Until Next Time, See Ya!

-T.K