"Some one has gotta be fucking with me!" thought Vinny. Who ever left that card had to of taken Laney, and Vinny would find him!

After studying the simple card for what seemed to be an hour, Vinny stepped into the shower and got ready to go to the orphanage. Today would be his first day back since being asked to leave by the policeman, and although it would remind Vinny of Laney, he was looking forward to seeing the other kids.

As soon as Vinny entered the orphanage all the kids immediately dropped everything they were doing and rushed to embrace Vinny. For the first time in a while Vinny felt happiness. He played with the kids for a while before making his way to Ms. Fernandez's office in the back. Vinny knocked twice before he heard her faintly say "Come in." Ms. Fernandez looked very tired, and considering all that she was dealing with, Vinny completely understood. "How are you?" he asked. Ms. Fernandez replied, "I'm fine, but all of the kids keep asking about her, and there is really nothing I can say to them." "I'm sorry Ms. Fernandez, we will find her!" said Vinny. "What have the police told you?" he asked. When Vinny said this Ms. Fernandez's expression went from slightly distraught to angry. "They haven't done a damn thing!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry to hear that." Vinny muttered in a tone that suggested he expected as much. "Well I came here to play with the kids so I'm gonna go back out with em' now, its good to see you Ms. Fernandez." "Its good to see too Vinny." she replied. As Vinny opened the door to leave Ms. Fernandez called out out his name, "Vinny! You have to find her!" Vinny looked at her and said, "I will."

It was about 3:30 and Vinny was still out running the streets. Vinny knew it wasn't smart to be out in the Castle Apartment district this late at night, but he wasn't worried. He had spent many a night out on these streets before and felt as comfortable here as he would anywhere else. Ever since last week when Laney had gone missing, Vinny had been unable to sleep, so rather than lay restlessly in bed all night, he chose to train instead. Vinny also knew that he was out this late in a vain attempt of find her. God knows that those dim wit policemen that have jurisdiction over the Castle Apartment district wont find her. If only I had some kind of a clue to go off of, thought Vinny, but there was nothing. The whole situation made no sense, why would someone take Laney? She was an orphan with no relatives, no money, and obviously no enemies, considering how sweet she was. No, something else was going on, Vinny was sure of it.

At this a point an erie fog had settled and morning had come, as Vinny rounded the corner of Quincy Way and Poplar Avenue he noticed the crowd gathering around the coffee shop. Vinny had no intention of stopping for a cup, not so much because he didn't like coffee, but because he didn't feel like talking. No, all Vinny wanted to do was find Laney.

After running for most of the night, Vinny finally felt fatigue setting in so he headed back to his apartment. He got on the elevator and pressed the button for floor five. When the floor bell rung and the door opened Vinny stepped out, brushing shoulders with another man. Vinny didn't think anything of it.

Vinny entered his apartment and there on the floor was a simple white envelope. Vinny picked up the envelope, opened it, and pulled out a plain white card that read, "Look Harder."

As soon as Vinny saw the police cruiser parked outside the orphanage he broke into a full sprint, bursting through the front door of the building, into a scene of distress and chaos. The orphanage director, Ms. Fernandez, was crying as she talked to the police officer, all of the kids were sitting on their individual beds, many of the kids were crying as well. However, one bed in the far corner was empty. Aproaching Ms. Fernandez and the policeman, Vinny shouted "Where is she! Where is Laney?" Immediatly the officer took a step towards Vinny, and asked him to calm down. "Someone has taken her." sobbed Ms. Fernandez. "How did this happen?" exlclaimed Vinny. We believe she was taken last night when she went to the bathroom because there's a window in it that was left slightly open. Its the only room without a video camera and the only place that the little girl would have gone in during the middle of the night" replied the officer. "Vinny, how did you know that Laney was missing?" asked Ms. Fernandez. "I know all of the kids, so I could tell when one was missing" answered Vinny, "We have to find her! I'm going to find her!" "Sir, we will find her, but you have to let the police handle this" replied the policeman, "You need to leave now." Realizing that the policeman believed he would just be a nuisance, Vinny turned and left the orphanage, not to go home, but to find Laney.

The day started with the piercing ring of the very early 4:30 alarm, always Vinny's least favorite part of the day. After considering whether or not he should leave the comfort of his Hampton and Rhodes mattress, the only piece of furniture he owned that cost more than a hundred bucks, Vinny slid out of bed and began to go through the motions of his daily routine: cook and eat two eggs, brush teeth, take care of bathroom needs, put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and left his 511 Castle apartment to take his morning run.

Vinny trained every morning, because one day he would be the world light weight champion of the world. He started his morning so early because rain had not come in a very long time and it was very hot, in addition to the heat there was always a subtle, unpleasant odor on the street. Vinny figured it was the result of a lack of city maintenance, but who could really know?

Nothing eventful had ever happened to Vinny as he ran around the block of Castle apartments, but today was different. As Vinny headed down Poplar Avenue he heard the sudden blare of police sirens cut on, and as sudden as the sirens cut on, the flashing blue lights of the police cruiser were visible rounding the corner. It was very hard to live in a city like Castle Apartments and not flinch at the site of police, but Vinny had been free of crime for several years now, so he put his head down and continued to jog towards Quincy Way as the cruiser flew by. While Castle Apartments was notorious for crime it was still strange to see the police so early in the morning and for the remainder of his jog, Vinny wondered what had happened.

When he was through working out, Vinny cleaned up and got ready for work. Every week day Vinny went to the orphanage to teach the kids about living a healthy lifestyle. He played games with them, he made arts and crafts with them, he fathered them. The only thing in the world Vinny loved more than fighting were the kids. So when Vinny arrived at the orphanage and he saw the same police cruiser from that morning parked out front, Vinny's earlier curiousity became his terror...