This is not a sequel, this is not a sequel, I promised myself there would be NO SEQUEL… damn, who am I kidding?

Okay, so this is a sequel companion piece for my story 'The Secret Life of Epsilon Brown', but you don't have to read that first. For those who have read it, this basically takes place in the alternate time line where K was written out of history. There probably won't be many Men In Black references in here.

Chapter 1

Mitch was hungry.

That was why he was currently kicking the face of that man who'd tried to fight back when he'd nicked the cheeseburger right out of his hands. The man was twice as tall as Mitch, and at least three times as wide, and he'd made a satisfying slapping sound when he hit the paving slabs.

Mitch was only eight years old, but he was tough.

Eventually he was bored of watching the fat moron bleed, and ran off with his prize. He ate quickly, hidden in the shadows of a tall building. It was a chilly afternoon, and judging by the decorations it was very near Halloween…

He froze as the sky suddenly went dark. A clap of thunder resounded through the city, and a great wind began to blow. Mitch flattened himself against the wall to stop himself from being cast away. He watched in terror as a small child materialised out of nowhere. The storm died down, and a little boy was left bawling in the street. Mitch approached him carefully, and the boy's cries gradually quietened down to gentle sobs. Mitch looked up at the sound of raised voices.

"We're too late, we missed it!"

"Search the street, somebody must have seen something…"

Cops, thought Mitch. He scooped up the boy, and retreated back into the shadows. The men ran right past his hiding place. They weren't dressed like policemen, instead they wore plain black suits. Like government agents…

"Hey, this guy's out cold!"

They had found the man he'd beaten up. While they were distracted he turned and ran, child in his arms. He weaved through the back roads, the rest of the gang should be back by now.

"Who's there?" growled a voice. Mitch froze.

"It's me, it's Mitch! Now open up and let me in!"

There was a loud clanging noise, and one of the metal bins was moved to the side to reveal a hole in the wall. Mitch scrambled through it, keeping a tight hold on the kid as he single-handedly pulled the bin back into place. He turned to find Joe staring at him.

"That's a kid."

"Yes."

"What the hell did you bring a fucking kid here for? You didn't kidnap him, did you?"

"Nah, I found him. We've got a new gang member."

"Mandy won't like that."

"I'll talk to her. Is she here?"

"She's in the back room."

Through all this, the toddler was sitting quietly, watching them through baleful green eyes. He clung tightly to Mitch as he took him right to the back of the building.

"Mandy," said Mitch. The girl whirled around. She was sixteen, tall and stringy with dirty blonde hair she kept tied back in a pony tail. Mitch backed away instinctively. He had seen their leader in action.

"Mitch, what the hell is that?" she asked, staring.

"It's a kid," he said, looking up at her.

"Don't give me that shit, I can work that out for myself," she snarled. "What's he doing here?"

"I found him," shrugged Mitch. "He was abandoned, I think."

Mandy studied the child, fingering his clothes. She took one of his hands and pulled it towards her, examining his arm, flexing it. The boy squirmed as she did the same to his leg. Eventually she stepped back.

"He doesn't seem the sort to be abandoned. Well fed, good clothes… you twat, you nicked him, didn't you?"

"No!" cried Mitch. "I found him in a dumpster," he lied.

"Well why couldn't you just take him to the police station?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked furiously. "They'll just dump him in an orphanage! Do you remember what they did to me?"

Mandy nodded. She did remember the day Mitch joined the gang, and the state they had found him in.

"Does the kid have a name?" she asked. Mitch shrugged.

"I dunno. Do you think he's old enough to talk?"

"How should I know? I'm not his bloody nursemaid!"

"Hey little guy," said Mitch, touching the boy's cheek. "What's you name?"

The kid just stared at him blankly.

"I'm Mitch," he continued, pointing to himself. "That's Mandy, and you are…"

"Hawwy," muttered the boy.

"Harry," said Mandy. "So we've got a Harry Doe here. Well, a name's a name. Where did he get that gash on his head?"

"Dunno," said Mitch, touching it gingerly. "It isn't bleeding."

"Keep an eye on it," ordered Mandy. "We don't want him getting sick. He's your responsibility."

"Yes ma'am."

"Train him. I am making an investment in young Harry Doe. If he grows up to be useful then we'll keep him. If not…" she let the sentence hang.

"Understood," promised Mitch. "I'll teach him. But he's too little…"

"There's time yet," she told him. "Start him off on the little things, then build up. You know the usual tricks. Pickpocketing, running, lying to the cops, self defence… but first we gotta introduce him to the others, and work out where the fuck he's gonna sleep."