Jack closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall, he was exhausted and the day was only beginning. Sleep never came easy, but last night had been particularly bad. His leg had been cramping and he had tried everything to get it out. Jenny, of course, had drifted off to sleep effortlessly and the shallows sighs of her breathing had seemed to mock him as he silently paced the room.

The universe then gave him another kick in the nuts as the cramp finally subsided at about 7 a.m. Just in time to start getting ready for school.

A tug on his shirt snapped his bloodshot eyes open and he looked down to see Leena. She was looking up at him most pathetically. Tears filled her eyes but had not yet spilled down her cheeks. Most of The Foundlings had long since learned that tears were more often the source of more pain than sympathy. Leena's lip quivered and Jack had to swallow a hard lump in his throat before he spoke.

He wen to one knee bringing himself to eye level with her.

"What's up, kiddo?" he asked.

"I can't tie my shoe." Leena whispered. Then she hiccupped and a tear did escape down her cheek.

Jack looked down. Leena's hair was matted and dirty and there was a bruise on her right arm. Leena's legs and feet were bare and dirty beneath her shabby blue dress. The remants of pink polish on her ragged toenails belied a visit from social workers three weeks earlier. The spot check was meant to be a surprise but the Bastards had an associate who warned them of upcoming inspections for a small fee.

The children had all been primped and prodded then dressed in the 'special clothes' kept for just such occasions. Mrs. Bastard had painted Leena's nails and put her hair in a lovely braid. Jack had been given one of Mr. Bastards old suits, a size too big but serviceable.

As usual the social worker was blind to the neglect that should have been obvious to all but the most ineffective government dullard. Once they had left, things went back to normal which attested to Leena's current state.

Jack shook his head. "It's okay Lee, where are your shoes?"

She pointed to down the hall to towards her room.

"Alright, well you go and get them and bring them here and I'll help you tie them, okay?"

Leena shook her head adamantly and another tear rolled down her face cutting a track through the dirt. She began to sob soundlessly, and Jack sighed. He glanced the other way down the hall toward Charlies room noting that the door was still closed. Probably still asleep... and Jenny should be done any minute.

"Come on kiddo, lets go get 'em." He said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder and guiding her down the hall to her bedroom.

She opened the door at and hopped up on her bed, pointing to the scuffed pair of sneakers on the floor. Jack smiled and retrieved them.

"Where are your socks, Lee?"

She slid off of the bed immediately and ran to the ancient dresser she shared and pulled open the bottom drawer. After a moments indecision Lenna selected a faded pair of red Elmo socks and came back to Jack. He proceeded to slip them on her feet and then went to work on the sneakers. The laces were knotted and it took him a couple of minutes to get them untangled. As he finished tying the second shoe there was a commotion behind him.

Jack spun around and stared down the hall, the bathroom door was open and he could hear Jenny plainly.

"Get out of here Charlie!"

Jack began to rise to his feet and then he felt Leena's hand on his arm. He turned to her and saw the pained look on her face.

"Sorry... he made me..." she said, her voice so low he almost couldn't hear her.

Only then did Jack understand... bruise on her arm... it was in the shape of a large hand and fingers where someone had squeezed the little girls mercilessly.

Charlie.

Jack bolted down the hall and into the bathroom. All six-foot-two of Charlie stood towering over Jenny who had been backed into the far corner. He was holding her arm, just the way he must have held Leena. His fingers digging deep into the Jennys bicep. With his other hand he was reaching up under her t-shirt.

Time seemed to suddenly slow for Jack. He let out a guttural cry and leapt across the last few feet landing heavily on Charlies back. They crashed against the tile wall narrowly missing Jenny who took advantage of Charlies distraction to wrench her arm free of his grasp.

Charlie turned his attention to Jack, ignoring Jenny who backed away in terror. Charlie was almost a foot and a half taller than Jack and out weigh him by at least fifty pounds.

"Big mistake fuck-face!" Charlie growled.

Now Jack had his back to the tile wall and Charlie was between him and door. He had attacked in a fit of rage over what The Bastards son had done to Leena and was trying to do to Jenny but now he knew his was in big trouble. There was no way he could win in a fair fight against Charlie.

In desperation, Jack tried the only thing he could think of... a swift kick in the balls. He sprung at Charlie driving his foot towards their testicular targets and for a moment it seemed like it was going to work. Then, at the last second, Charlie pivoted moving his body to the side and catching Jacks leg between his hip and the crook of his arm. Jack felt the power in that arm as Charlie easily lifted Jack into the air and slammed him down on the floor. His head hit the tiles with a resounding whack and Jack saw stars and then blackness.

There was a huge weight on his chest and after a moment Jacks eyes fluttered open. The weight was Charlie. He was lying across Jacks chest out cold. To his right stood Jenny and in her hands was the heavy porcelain top to the toilet tank. Jack scrambled out from under Charlie and stood next to his sister.

"What the hell?" He asked looking at her in wonderment.

"I didn't know what else to do..." Jenny said, staring at Charlie on the floor. Blood was beginning to pool around his head and run up the grout lines between the tiles. She stepped back so the blood would not touch her foot.

"You hit him with that?" Jack asked.

Jenny looked down and seemed to realize she was still holding the toilet tank lid. She carefully laid it on the floor without answering Jack.

"Holy shit...." Jack muttered.

"Is he dead?" The question came from the open bathroom door behind them and Jack turned to see Leena staring past him at Charlies motionless form.

"No... no Leena, he's fine. Go back to your room and get ready for school.

After seconds hesitation she did as she was told and disappeared down the hall.

Jack looked back at Charlie. There was a lot of blood... but he couldn't be dead. Tentatively, Jack approached him and looked for signs of life. He poked Charlie with his toe lightly and then harder when he got no reaction.

"Charlie? Hey, you okay?" Jack reached down and shook his shoulder which caused Charlies head to loll back. His eyes were open with the pupils rolled back and his mouth hung slack.

Jack turned to look at Jenny.

"Oh man..."

Jenny's hand went to her mouth and she bit down on her index finger and groaned.

"I think he's..." But Jack could bring himself to say it.

Jack stood up and backed away from Charlies body his mind racing. Charlie was dead... they killed him. He was an asshole... a pervert... a cruel son of a bitch... and he was dead. They would go to jail. There was no way around it. He attacked Charlie from behind and Jenny hit him... fuck why did she hit him? What was she thinking.

Jack looked over at Jenny she was still biting her finger and staring at Charlie her eyes huge and unblinking.

It wasn't fair... their lives already sucked and now they were going to go to jail for killing this piece of shit... not fair.

Jack could not let that happen. He reached into the shower and turned on the water, then grabbed to toilet tank lid from where Jenny had placed it on the floor. Thinking of fingerprints he used a towel to wiped the lid down and then replaced it on top of the tank. Leena was the only witness and she hated Charlie too. Maybe it'll just look like he slipped and fell on the tile... it seemed reasonable to Jack.

He was kidding himself and he knew it. Fuck this he thought and grabbed Jenny's hand dragging her out of the bathroom and down the hall. In their room he threw a change of clothes for each of them in his dufflebag and opened the window.

"What are you doing?"

Jack spun around to see Leena standing in the doorway.

"We have to go, kiddo." Jack told her.

"Because you killed Charlie?" Leena asked, looking frightened.

"No... and you can't tell anyone that, Lee. Do you understand. You didn't see anything, okay?"

"Okay," she said sounding very unsure. "Can I come with you?"

Jack closed his eyes and glanced over at Jenny. She was sitting on the bed and looked completely out of it.

"No Kiddo, I'm sorry you can't."

"Are you coming back?" she asked.

"I don't know..." Jack trailed off not knowing what else to say.

Leena stared at him for a moment her eyes big and very blue.

"Charlie was bad." She said finally without any doubt in her voice.

"Yeah... he was, Kiddo."

"Okay," she said, and with that she turned and walked out of the room.

Jack and Jenny's room was on the second floor but just below their window was the roof of the attached garage. Jack helped his sister out onto the roof first and then followed with his duffle slung over his shoulder. They scrambled down to the edge of the roof and Jack jumped down first then help Jenny to the ground.

She was still not really present so he ended up dragging her down the street by her upper arm in almost exactly the same way Charlie had been holding her. When he realized this, Jack pulled his hand away and instead looped his arm around her waist as they headed away from The Bastards foster home. Jack figured if they were lucky they would never see that place again.