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commented.
    “So you’re considering it?”
    “Probably.” Brian sighed when they got back to where they’d started, looking at the stairs going up to the third floor. They were in no better condition than the ones leading down. “Not sure I’m ready to tackle those.”
    “Stay here. I’ll check it out.”
    Zack found the third floor was in much the same condition as the second, although there was less detritus and more dirt and dust. He noted a trap door leading up to the roof with a new padlock on the hasp to keep it locked. As with the lower floor, there was a hallway with several small rooms off each side of it and one larger one by the stairs.
    “I wonder,” Zack said when he rejoined Brian and described the third floor, “if this was a hotel way back when? Or maybe a rooming house, since there’s only a couple of bathrooms on each floor.”
    “Wouldn’t surprise me,” Brian replied as he began easing his way down to the ground floor. Once they were back in the front room, Brian leaned against a part of the counter that was still standing. “It definitely has potential, but it’s going to cost a small fortune to fix up.”
    Zack nodded. “It won’t be cheap, but it’s not like you’re starting from scratch. You have all the furniture from where you are now, and the kitchen appliances. And you have a built-in work crew once the city deems the building up to code.”
    “True enough. Knowing the kids who are regulars, a lot of them will be willing to help out.”
    “Yep. Let me check out the basement.”
    The basement was, much to Zack’s surprise, relatively clean. Probably, he figured, because it had been locked off and there were no windows. At the moment, all it held was the building’s heating system and a padlocked box on one wall for, according to the sign on the front, the electrical breakers.
    Going back to where Brian waited, Zack told him what he’d found before saying, “Let’s get you back to the shelter. I’ll call my client in the morning to tell him you’re interested and give him your number. Then I’ll start the ball rolling on the gala to raise the money you’ll need.”
    “Thank you! Thank you for…everything you’re doing.”
    “Hey, no thanks needed. Without you, I wouldn’t be in a position to do anything other than be a member of the work crew once they get started.”
    “No, Zack,” Brian said as he started toward the front door. “You’d have gotten off the streets, even without my help. I just gave you a push in the right direction.”
    “More like a hard shove,” Zack retorted with a grin. “Still…”
    “Enough!” Brian stopped when they got outside, looking up and down the now darkening street. “Yeah, not the best area in the city, but one that needs the shelter.”
    Two teens, who were walking toward them, stopped momentarily then hurried forward. “Mr. Foster,” one boy said, “What are you doing around here? It’s not…well…safe, you know.”
    “Yeah, Pike, I know,” Brian replied with a smile. “But if things go the way I’m hoping, it will be safer. At least inside there.” He nodded toward the building. When Pike asked why, Brian told him what might happen.
    “Woot,” Micky, the other boy, said, pumping his fist in the air. “If you need grunt work…”
    “I’ll let you know,” Brian told him with a smile. “Trust me on that one.”
    “Mr. Foster,” Pick said seriously. “We all trust you. Honest. You’re good people.” Then, looking embarrassed that he’d been so open, Zack supposed, Pike walked away quickly with Micky right behind him.
    “That right there,” Brian said as he got into the car, “is what makes all this worth it.”

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Reaper moved swiftly but silently down the dark alley. It had been a long night and he was both frustrated and tired. Frustrated because he hadn’t seen any of the cars or the men who might be involved in the attempted abductions of the street kids he