Sitting on a bench, appearing to read the news, he watches. He has read this paper already but the appearance of reading it diverts attention from himself. He does not want unnecessary attention as he observes people who pass by. He has only been in New York for only a few months and as such knows very little of the mutants and humans here, so he often sits in the park and studies the people. Also their conversations can be good for information regarding criminals, mutant or human, who the police cannot stop or have been unable to.

Today he sits, on a bench observing. Nothing has happened today, nor the day before and for that he is grateful. Though he feels it his duty to aid he longs for when he will not be needed to act for justice to be done.

As he sits he thinks as to what he can accomplish here in the city, he is but one man. He may be a mutant, and have military training to boot, but he is still one. He sees himself as an aegis to humanity, both mutant and not.

These people he sees passing, they know not of the good he has done nor most likely of what he can do. Of the justice he brings to those most deserving. Yet, it is better for if they did they would deem him a monster. Many do not see the world as he does, in his experience has learned that one thing is true in this whole good versus evil, just versus unjust game. The ends justify the means. Many see this philosophy as archaic and even wrong, but to him it seems apt to the world.

Realizing nothing is likely to happen here he folds up the newspaper and tosses it into the nearby trashcan as he stands up from the bench. He looks to his left and decides that looks as good as any of a direction to go so he takes off in that direction. He pulls out his phone, a G1, and uses it to make a note of another uneventful day.

He continues to walk and thinks about the paper. There was an article about an unsolved murder, and how the police have nothing to go on. He had spent that morning trying to dig up information about it but to no avail, it seemed the only information people had was that that has been in the paper.

He clenched a fist as he thought about it.

He stops and thinks about where in the park the murder occurred, it wasn't all that far from here as he remembers. He looks around to gauge more accurately where he is, although being relatively new to NYC he is pretty lost so he pulls out his G1 and has the GPS locate him.

The phone shows his location and he locates with it his destination and heads to it. As he walks he goes over what the article described. 2 bullet wounds, both to the torso, shots came from the north from above her to a minor degree. The weapon is believed to be a small caliber rifle.

Nearing the crime scene he looks around for any on duty cops watching the location. He spots one and approaches him near the police tape.

"Hey is this where that girl was killed a few days back?"

"Yeah but you need to stay back sir, this is still part of an active investigation."

As he takes a few steps closer to the officer, "Alright, I'll leave, but can you show me how to get back to..." without finishing his sentence he drops down low to the ground and kicks the officers legs out from under him and before the officer can react Ranger reaches under his jacket and draws the pistol under his left arm and fires and tranquilizer dart at the officers chest while raising back up into a standing position. The officer passes out before he can protest more than, "What on Earth!"

"That'll keep him out while I inspect the scene myself" he says as he places the gun back into it's holster. He then drags the body into some brush before anyone can walk by and see him. Finally he steps over the police tape into the crime scene.

Flynn watched the scene going down. He was standing on the balcony where the trajectory of the bullet wounds must have come from. Who was this guy that just shot the cop? Flynn figured this was as good a time as any for his coming out. He was already invisible so changing would only be a minor problem. He ran back into the hotel room, and popped back into view. It made changing clothes easier. He took off the shirt and pants, then opened his backpack. H pulled his belt, mask, and gloves form it; swapping out the street clothes. Flynn buckled on the belt, making sure the weapon was snug in it's holster. The gloves and mask were fastened on and he had become HYDE.

He popped out of sight and opened the door to the room, startling a couple in the hallway who only saw a door open and close on it's own. He ran for the stairwell and vaulted down to the ground floor. Thru the lobby and across the street he chugged, noting the distance at around 200 feet. Hyde wondered if the culprit was the shooter, returning to the scene of the crime.

When he arrived, silent and invisible, Hyde went over to check out the policeman who had been shot. It was then he noticed the dart. 'This doesn't seem like the actions of a contract killer,' thought Hyde to himself. 'Why hadn't the man just killed the cop? He certainly didn't have a problem with shooting someone in cold blood.' Hyde wasn't sure what to think, so he figured it best to just tag along for a few and get a feel for the situation. The guy had some moves, looked paramilitary trained from the little bit he had seen.

He would give it a few minutes. There should be nothing of real worth here, since the case was a few days old. the CSI guys had scoured the area and should have bagged and tagged everything already. He thought back to the night before when he had stolen into the forensics department and lifted a copy of the numbers the woman, Abagail DeFreiz. had on her cell phone. One of those had been the direct number to the room he had just come from. The cylindrical burn marks in the outdoor carpet looked like they could have been made from hot spent cartridges, policed a few seconds too late to stop the process. Hyde came out of his reverie and watched the newcomer to the crime scene.

The Ranger walks to the area of the scene where the woman's body lay after she had been shot. He then stood on the spot where her feet would have been and looked in the direction the shots had come from.

"Hmm, that balcony looks like it could be the spot."

Hey took out his G1 and made a note of the hotel being more than likely where the shots came from. That wasn't in the paper but the police probably already know it was from there. He decides to go there only when done here. He has not been in New York long and the paper said nothing of there having had beensimilar killings anywhere else nor any more at this location so it may be a one time killing, but then again it may not.

Knowing the police already scoured the area he may have to get in there to get information if he cannot find enough information here himself. And seeing nothing else here that the police wouldn't have seen he turns to the hotel in the distance.

"Perhaps from there I can get some more information..."

He takes another look around the area, just turning his head to scan before he starts to walk towards the hotel.

Hyde followed the man over to the hotel. When he started up the stairs, the hero walked by and over to a corner. Making sure he wasn't observed; he went into the bathroom nearby. Settling himself into a stall, he went visible behind the closed door. He took out his Cell phone and the list of numbers from the dead woman's cell calls. He called the last number.

"This better be important," the voice answering gruffly said. Hyde thought quickly and simply stated, "I was hired by Ms. DeFriez." "What?" He sure sounded surprised at that. "Um Um Um Well and that means?" The guy had a Russian accent Hyde discerned. He didn't sound like the type of guy that would be working in the military subcontracting firm the woman was an employee of. Another thought came to his mind. "I am wanting to conclude her business."

A long handful of seconds passed. Hyde listened intently and believed he could make out the sound of someone speaking Russian in the background. The phones Mic was covered on the other end, probably by a hand. A scratching of a palm across the phone's Mic muffled a quick exchange of Russian words. The original voice came back saying, "We will meet to discuss terms. There's a warehouse at the end of East 138th street at the corner of Locust Avenue. Tell them Gordo is waiting fer ya and they'll let you in. 8 o'clock." The call ended abruptly.

Hyde wasn't sure what to do exactly. He went invisible again and left the bathroom. He jumped into an elevator someone had just gotten into. When the patron turned his head to the ceiling for a moment, he pushed the second floor button. Fifteen seconds later he walked out of the elevator while the puzzled occupant tried to figure out how the second floor had gotten selected.

He got to the open door of the room and slipped inside, back to spying on the man who seemed to be doing the exact same things he had done. He started to wonder if this was another like Wraith. If so, then he would have to make his presence known and enlist his aid.

As he approached the hotel he looked up at the rooms and determined the location of the most likely room the shots came from. Noting how many rooms over he entered the hotel.

He walked across the lobby silently and briskly, his goal to draw no attention to himself as he headed to the stairs. He concluded when doing vigilante work the less who got a look at his face the better. He quickly walked up the stairs and entered the hall of the second floor unnoticed.

Seeing no one in the hall he headed to the room he concluded was the shooters room, the door had been locked. A sign he took as the police and CSI not being on the scene. No problem he thought as he removed a couple of thin long metal rods with bent tips from a pouch he pulled from a pocket. In no time he had used these picks to unlock the door following which he silently moved inside.

Arriving at the balcony on the far side of the room he knelt down to look at the small burns in the carpet. The shells were obviously removed by the NY:CSI but the burns could tell him at least the caliber of the gun.

"It seems, the police have all the useful evidence. Perhaps...perhaps I should pay them a visit and have myself a look.."

He feels that since he doesn't have to deal with red tape he can act more efficiently on the evidence.

He stands up, and pulls out his 9 mil. He inspects it and then ejects the magazine. He switches it with a fully loaded one from his pack.

"Hopefully I won't need to use it, but just in case it is good to be prepared."

He places the gun in it's holster and turns around pulling out his G1 to look up the police department. At this moment he realizes he has left the door open so he moves to the door and quietly shuts it.

"Well that was careless of me..."

He walks to the middle of the room and having located the police department he pulls back one side of his jacket to stick the phone in an inside pocket which flashes his tan beret which was folded and stuck out of the same pocket. The beret being the distinctive beret of the US Army Rangers.

The beret was a dead giveaway. Could this be someone looking for him? No...There's no way anyone could have traced him to New York. Setting this whole thing up wasn't what he would have done to lure a person out. Certainly there were people who would do such things but the odds of this all being some elaborate scheme were astronomical. Since this guy wasn't openly using his military connections to get involved, he probably wasn't doing anything sanctioned. Curiouser and Curiouser... Well, Since he wasn't getting out of here now that the door was closed, perhaps it was time to come clean. At least he was in costume, so he wouldn't have to give himself away.

He stepped behind the man and reappeared. Quickly he said, in a deeper voice than he usually used, "Don't be alarmed, I'm a friend." He stood there, hands on his hips in a superhero pose, like he had seen other heroes do on TV. " I am Hyde and I'm here to help. Tell me what you know about the DeFreiz murder." It was then he realized that he had an itch on the back of his leg and knew he would look silly if he scratched it. No one had told him costumes could be so irritating.

"Don't be alarmed, I'm a friend."

When he heard that voice behind him, knowing moments he could not see anyone, he slowly reached for and rested his hand on his gun and turned his head to the side where he could just see the stranger in the edge of his field of vision.

I am Hyde and I'm here to help. Tell me what you know about the DeFreiz murder."

Seeing that this man who calls himself 'Hyde' was neither armed nor in an offensive pose he took his hand from his gun and turned to face him.

"Well Hyde, I'm not sure how you got there. Possibly teleporting, invisibility, or altering my perception. Regardless of that, I am not inclined to share information with a random masked man. Yet, you could have harmed me earlier so perhaps I will play along. Oh, how rude of me! Hyde, I am known as 'The Ranger' "

He looked to the sides, insuring it was just this lone man in the room.

"I don't know much, most of the evidence has been collected by the police already, but from what I can see from this rooms balcony a rifle, most likely an SKS carbine as the carpet burns were for a 7.62x39mm round, was fired twice at a woman, Ms. DeFreiz, killing her. The SKS being Russian in design."

"I sadly lack enough information to act on. Now, what do you know about the murder?"

Hyde listened to the ranger's analysis. He knew his weaponry. A Russian made weapon in a Russian hit man's hands. Surely the meeting set up for that evening was to be a trap. It seemed best to fill this guy in and compare notes properly. He took his hands off his hips and sat down in a chair close by.

"Your assessment validates the clue I followed up on earlier. The victim worked for a sub division of Rand Industries, doing some sort of military contract work. I've been following up on this since it happened. I procured a list of the phone numbers she called or had been called from prior to her death. Two hours before she was shot, she received a call from this room." He sat forward in his seat.

"I think the call was to get her to come to the target area for the kill. Seeing as how this place was a dead end, except for your assessment on the weapon used, I delved into her phone calls more." Hyde stood up, adjusting his belt. He started pacing back and forth as he continued his diatribe.

"I called the last number she called and I reached a Russian accented man. I purported to be a hired agent of the victim and set up a meet with them for tonight. I still don't know why she was killed; but I surmised it had something to do with her work. I intend to lean on someone at this meet to find out who killed the woman and why. Are you in?"

As Hyde expanded on the situation Ranger sat on the edge of the table that was just beside him, listening.

"I called the last number she called and I reached a Russian accented man. I purported to be a hired agent of the victim and set up a meet with them for tonight. I still don't know why she was killed; but I surmised it had something to do with her work. I intend to lean on someone at this meet to find out who killed the woman and why. Are you in?"

He thought about it, the situation made sense, and if this was true it would make settling the mater much easier. Not to mention be less of a risk to himself, not having to break into a police department and all.

"Alright, I'm in. Since you set up the meeting you can call the shots on this, at least until bullets start flying."

At that he reached and pulled out the 9 mil under his right arm and ejected the magazine of tranquilizer darts. Placing the mag into his back pouch he pulled out a mag of live rounds and loaded it into the gun. Following which he put it in the holster.

"...just in case."

He then stood up from the table.

"So what is the plan, when and where is this meeting?"

"Alright, I'm in. Since you set up the meeting you can call the shots on this, at least until bullets start flying."

Flynn watched him pull out live round mags and put them into his gun."...just in case."
"Woah now partner, we aren't shooting to kill in there. You've got tranq darts, you use them. Killing makes us no better than the assassin that killed that poor woman."

"So what is the plan, when and where is this meeting?"

"Well, I'm pretty good at getting around unseen, so I figure I'd go in with you and make their trap into a trap of out own. They will probably want to know how much this 'hired hand' knows about everything, make sure there aren't any more loose ends." He sat back down and interlaced his fingers from both hands. Bringing his hands up, he placed the index fingers just under his chin,

"You just keep em busy while I handle taking one of them down to answer our questions, After I get the right one, we make them all down. Hard."

"Woah now partner, we aren't shooting to kill in there. You've got tranq darts, you use them. Killing makes us no better than the assassin that killed that poor woman."

"You just keep em busy while I handle taking one of them down to answer our questions, After I get the right one, we make them all down. Hard."

"Don't worry," He opens his jacket to reveal under either arm a holster with a 9 mil and a knife holster on his collarbone's left side with the hilt over his right pectoral. "I carry 2, my right hand will reach for the traq, if let's say a dog is loosed on us it won't work fast enough so I can reach for the other. Like I said just in case."

He takes his hands off his jacket letting letting it sweep back to it's normal resting position.

"And don't worry, I'll hold them off of you.."

For a brief moment he considers informing his new partner of his, ability. He decides not as he still does not fully trust Hyde. The question of how he was unnoticed upon his entrance still bothered Ranger. One thing is certain it is probably going to be essential to save his life, as he doesn't wear any form of protection, neither Kevlar nor any type of flak jacket.

He mentally runs down a few possible scenarios in his head and concludes if they either have guns at the time or can get to them quick enough than disarming will be the necessary first course or action. Hopefully the area will not be very open, he excels in close and had-to-hand combat.

The mutant listened to the man speak. He seemed on the up and up. He relayed the location and time Hyde had gotten from the Russian earlier.

"I'm going to check out the area. See what the lay of the land is. meet me at six two blocks east of the meet. I'll fill you in on what I find." Flynn went to the door and opened it.
"Don't worry about me, I'll find you there. try not to look too out of the ordinary. Oh, and you might want to get something to conceal your face. Your face might enable someone to figure out who you are. There are cameras everywhere."

He threw a slip of paper over to the table away from them. "There's a number where you can reach me. It's a throw away phone. I'd get one yourself." As the Ranger turned and picked up the number, Hyde turned invisible and walked out the door. He had his phone off at the moment, and he had one other stop to make before he checked out the wharf area. With only two hours until he would meet the Ranger, there was much to do...

"Don't worry about me, I'll find you there. try not to look too out of the ordinary. Oh, and you might want to get something to conceal your face. Your face might enable someone to figure out who you are. There are cameras everywhere."

"Seems a safe idea, I'll look into that."

He turns to pick up the paper that was thrown onto the table and while looking back he sighs. Hyde had vanished just as mysteriously as he had appeared. Ranger pulled out his G1 and entered the number into it. He walks over to the door and walking out shuts it behind him.

Walking out of the room he heads to the stairs, no one appeared to see him leave the room. He hurries down the stairs and out into the hotel lobby which he crosses and leaves to the outside.

He pulls out his G1, he had walked quite a ways that day so far and had to find where he had parked his motorcycle. Locating it on the map and finding a route to it he sets off, a sense of urgency is there as the meeting being a mere 2 hours and he needs to head back to his place to get some gear. This urgency calls forth his power which augments his legs. His muscles grow and reshape, optimizing his running potential, and his speed rapidly rises to around 30 miles per hour.

Flynn changed back into his civilian attire after Ranger left. He left the bathroom and walked out the hotel, flagging a cab. "Park Avenue, Rand-Meachum corporation offices please," Flynn tells the driver. The trip takes a good twenty minutes, which allows the hero t inquire as t how to get to the meeting place later on that evening. With a time frame in his head, Chris gets out of the cab a block away from the corporation.

Quickly re donning his uniform while in an alley, Hyde invisibly joins the crowd, works his way to the entrance to the place and makes his move. Sliding alongside a woman entering the building, he lifts her card and tucks it into his pocket, where it disappears. Hyde skips over the turnstile and around the metal detector, deftly evading the guards posted and the employees moving in and out of the building.

He looks over the office directory and finds the floor he is looking for. The invisible hero is quite happy that there is no bottom door for the stairwell and begins racing up them. When he gets to the fourteenth floor, Flynn opens the door just enough to get thru and into the hallway. Luckily the halls there are not too crowded.

He looks thru the smoked-glass windows of each office until he finds an unoccupied one. The woman's key card gets him into the office. Thee he fins exactly what he wanted, a computer still on. Within moments he is printing out the information he needs, the files of what the DeFreiz woman worked on for Rand-Meachum.

Exiting the place proved a little more difficult. The woman had alerted the people at the front guard station about her missing key card quicker than Hyde thought she might. He had to evade two score guards who had tracked the use of the card to the office he had invaded just to get back down to the ground floor. Luckily, invisible people aren't easy to spot so ii was only a matter of waiting for the opening he needed. He runs thru the metal detector, his weapon and other metal parts of his belt setting it off. Of course the guards think it some sort of malfunction, and Hyde slips out the revolving door easily while they are occupied.

After changing once more in an alley nearby, Flynn stores the printout in his knapsack and turns on his phone. Unable to reach Zahira, Flynn grabs a cab and heads to the wharf. He would still have a good half hour after getting there to look over the area before meeting up with Ranger. As the driver starts singing along to '"Chhupke Kaon Aya'" by Usha Uthup, Flynn settles in and pulls out the printout. As he reads it, the pieces start to come together.