When the television was on at Sledge’s apartment, it was turned ninety percent of the time to some sort of news channel. Having not watched any programs as a child he didn’t have anything that he really wanted to watch as an adult. He’d tried to watch Doctor Who, but he had come in at a late point in the series or something and failed to understand what on earth was going on in it. At the end of the day though, Sledge had to say that television was highly overrated. It’s sole purpose to him was to give him information at a quicker pace than he could read the paper. Sledge turned the tellie on to give him some background noise as he mulled over his plans for the evening. Halloween was a major holiday in the United States, one that followed the traditional rule of preparations beginning months in advance. Not that he was going to object to the high speed that commercialism burned through the holidays. The ones that were meant to provoke warm fuzzy feelings were an excellent source of money making, with Christmas being the biggest cash cow of them all.

Selling things on the streets was, it seemed, a requirement for any corner in New York. Depending upon the day you would see anything from a knock off iPods to scarves. Sledge had taken advantage of this by claiming that he was with Consumer Product Safety Commission, flashing briefly his gym membership card from Bradford. If the goods were of passable quality, he confiscated them, holding on to them long enough to sell them on the streets himself. If what was being sold was utter rubbish, a cut of the profits was an acceptable reason to turn his attention elsewhere.

Still with Christmas approaching he felt the itch for some of his old scams. It wasn’t illegal at all to sell a toy to someone. Marking on the price of said toy just for profit wasn’t illegal either, just arguably immoral. Back in England he worked with someone who did the illegal work, bringing him supplies of whatever that season’s must have item would be. There was always some negotiations over what cut of the profit Sledge would get to keep. So far he hadn’t found a supplier that was stupid enough to not realize that he was getting taken advantage of, nor smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

The television blared the warning claxon, alerting him that something was happening. A banner of text scrolled across the bottom of the screen. Apparently there were some rolling blackouts occurring throughout the city, and authorities were encouraging people to stay indoors. It was a laughable idea. This was Halloween, and nobody was going to want to stay inside, especially the little children who would have been so excited to traipse about the city in their costumes. The cause of the blackouts was still unknown, and the power grid was working on resolving the issue. Sledge smiled, for it looked as though his plans for the night had been made for him.


Wearing a faux chain mail shirt and dark pants, Sledge was waltzing about in the new dark of New York, equipped with a few large store bags. Amazing how easy it is to break into a building when there is now power to it. Glass shatters, but alarms don’t go off. He had gone “shopping” at the city’s biggest Toy’s R Us, picking up a few supplies from the backrooms and was now headed off to another store.

Free drink and free food, very nice. And Seyta didn't have to steal it either. Halloween was one of her favorite holidays. During the day things where great to, since all the stores where dealing with people who needed last minute costume items almost the entire rest of the store would be left unattended, and therefor ripe and ready for seyta to enjoy. At night the fun went on with scaring the crap out of kids, awesome parties, and of course costumes.

Costumes and parties went together well also. Seyta herself was Harley Quinn and dressed much better than everyone else in the bar. The best part about the whole thing was no one cared, unless you didn't know how to dance to thriller. Seyta had been bar hopping for a few hours, it was better to go early since the late night crowd was mostly zombies and not much fun. She was heading out the door when the power died.

Seyta looked around the street for a few minutes, the outage was rather large but she could still see the overall glow of New York. A lack of power though, however small, meant a lack of cameras. She grinned, it was time for some late night trick-or-treating. So dressed as a super villain Seyta headed out. Jewelry stores were off limits, those where too easy to trace, even for her. There was more than a few other stores nearby though. All she had to do was finish before the power came back on.

By the time Seyta had reached her destination, she noticed that the power outage seemed to be moving. Also she was not the only thief who knew when to go for an easy win. One particular Brit in chain-mail and a lot of bags in hand caught her eye. "David... Enjoying your Halloween?" she chuckled walking up to him using her best imitation of Harley Quinn, not that she was much good at voices.

Sledge tensed at hearing his name. He hated it the same way that one would hate having to eat socks. It really did leave a foul taste in his mouth. What’s more, he hadn’t anticipated anyone who knew his first name to be calling out for him while he was out looting. Familiarity meant trouble. He turned to the voice, half expecting to see some sort of authority there. To his surprise, and his pleasure, there was no police officer calling out to him, questioning why he was carrying large cloth shopping bags. Looking like an old trick or treat-er could easily become looking like a pedophile. As usual the lady’s name danced around the outside of Sledge’s memory. She always looked so familiar to him. Not Anna, though from a distance or with the right light she could pass as a double. He passed the odd mixture of déjà vu and not knowing as the result of the costume.

Speaking of which he had to take a moment to admire it. In preparation for the holiday he had seen plenty of miniscule ruffled miniskirts and cropped corset tops that somehow constituted as any possible animal, person, or strangely enough, party game, that one may feel inclined to dress as. This was something else. Oh sure, it followed the guidelines for sex apeal, but the outfit mad no sense to him. Was it meant to combine the horrors of clowns and doctors? Hard to be frightened of something that looked so hot.

“Maxwell,” he corrected Seyta, her name slipping back into his mind. He smirked, fully aware that she could question his baggage, but appreciating that she didn’t outright do so. The conversation was light for now, and she questioned how his Halloween was going. “Overall I’d say that it’s going well. Should be heading back to me flat now, but had to get some Christmas shopping done. You?”

The look on his face was priceless; if only she had a camera with her. Either way she moved up next to him looking over his costume it wasn't much but had a quirky simpleness to it.

>> "Maxwell. Overall I’d say that it’s going well. Should be heading back to me flat now, but had to get some Christmas shopping done. You?"

The look said he still didn't recognize her. Might be fun to play with that small advantage for a bit. Then again she wasn't really that mean...was she? She was in the future, but that was just a prediction or something, not real. "Doing good. And I like David better. As for the Christmas shopping, none of the stores are open right now, and there is a small blackout at the moment." Stretching she looked at the size of his bags. "I have a bit of shopping that i want to get done to. Mostly for myself but you wouldn't mind helping a sweet girl like me carry my bags would you?"

The Brit never let his smug smile slip. She had caught him red handed. Best not to let her know how much it bothered him. "Dinnit say that I just got out of the shops. Big city and it's impossible to hail a cab. Been on me feet all day." It was plausible after all. With the city's traffic lights blacking out there were plenty of traffic jams. Subway lines were probably down as well, which meant that you would be stuck with methods of self locomotion.

She likes David better, he thought with some small thrill. He didn't know how she knew that he was David, because he only gave his first name when someone wanted a full name. Sledge's default was to say that he was Maxwell. If pressed he'd clarify that he was David Maxwell. To his credit though his actual last name was hard to come by. If being called "Davie" was torture, hearing "Duckland" was a fresh new hell. While Seyta took the chance to check out his shopping haul, he again studied her costume. Yes, it was not frightening in the least. And yes, it was better than any costume that he'd seen on the other side of the pond.

Paying a bit more attention to the way that she was dressed than the words she said, Sledge made a gutteral noise that could easily be construed as the affirmative. Although he could not remember the exact details of why things kept going pear shaped with Seyta, he was always up for a challenge. Perhaps this time he'd actually be able to charm her. "I suppose you have a large family to shop for then?"

>> "Dinnit say that I just got out of the shops. Big city and it's impossible to hail a cab. Been on me feet all day."

That made sense, cabs where annoying as hell and the blackout would cause issues with intersections and probably the subway. However, their apartment building was in the other direction. And his first reaction when she called his name, before he saw her wasn't casual, he had tensed.

>> "I suppose you have a large family to shop for then?"

"Not really, there's six of us including my grandma and me. And I'm nt good with social get togethers, especially with my family." She paused giving him a very knowing smile. "However... Do you know the phrase 'It takes a thief' ?"

She she pause holding out a hand, offering to carry a few of his bags. "I know when someone is caught with something they didn't pay for David. I usually don't pay myself, so why don't we go shopping together, we can carry more.' Still smiling she waited patiently for his answer.

For Sledge he rarely saw all his family together. His Mum and Da worked every day, except for Christmas. When he first could remember meeting Charlie, his older brother had already been married and moved out of the small house. It didn’t strike him at odd at all that Seyta wasn’t big on the family get togethers. In any case they were both adults and as such, independent from their parents. With six in her family, two thirds of which she had told him about, it left siblings. Well, he never told her about Charlie, so why should he expect her to talk about her own family.

Sledge considered dragging out the ruse longer. Claiming that he had gotten turned around with the darkness was entirely possible. Seyta didn’t need to know how easily he found his way around the city. It was very difficult for him to stay lost for long. “Wouldn’t call myself a thief. More of an entrepreneur .” There was no denying that he was doing something that was illegal. Instead he was putting a spin on it, a justification for his actions.

As much as he was going to enjoy some company with his merchandising, Sledge hesitated to hand over any of his bags. Having toys wasn’t going to be impressive. Even if he knew that he could get more for one hunk of plastic on the streets than a piece of gold, it still was kind of a damper on chatting up a girl. “If we’re going to do this, wouldn’t it be more natural if the knight were carrying the lady’s bags?” he asked.

>> “ Wouldn't call myself a thief. More of an entrepreneur .”

Seyta shrugged, personally she likes the term shoplifter, but thief was far more accurate. Either way it wasn't important. The funny thing was that almost all the stuff she owned was acquired free of charge.

>> “If we’re going to do this, wouldn't it be more natural if the knight were carrying the lady’s bags?”

She grinned. "Hmm, that's true." Seyta gave a wink and turned to look down the street. "So, where should we go first?" Personally, getting a knife similar to the one she had in her dreams would be nice but she wasn't sure where to look. Jewelry was already out of the question by her own admittance, and she had no idea what David may want to keep shopping for.

For the time being Sledge’s profits were still safe. Seyta agreed to him carrying his bags. Of course now he’d have to lug around not only his own “purchases”, but also hers as well. Chivalry died for a reason, and that reason was that it was a pain in the arse. Women were capable of doing anything that men did, why did they have to be treated as fragile things? In the end though Sledge would more easily cave to a lady’s tears than a man’s pleas. “What’s that store with all those electronic bits?” he asked, searching for the name, “Best Buy. Those are pretty popular ‘ere.”

Computers weren’t what interested him at the electronics store. He figured that there had to be paperwork for those, some sort of tracking number. Even if there wasn’t, computers were bulky things to try and carry. A stack of laptops may weigh less, but it wasn’t any less awkward to carry about. Smaller things were the way to go. Cds, DVDs, video games. Small things like that added up quickly, and were harder to notice than a five hundred dollar chunk of metal and plastic. Those didn’t have anything that can trace them. Anyone could own a copy of a cd. Theft was common in the music industry these days anyways. The only difference was that Sledge was taking a physical copy, not some digital imprint.

Ironic that he wanted to hit up an electronic store during a blackout. Anything that he lifted wouldn’t be functional without an electrical charge. It made almost as much sense as stealing canned fruit when you don’t have a can opener.

So Seyta didn't have to carry anything, nice. Granted it was probably because David didn't want to let go of his own goods but she had offered to help him carry things. And he responded with saying he would carry hers.

>> “What’s that store with all those electronic bits? Best Buy. Those are pretty popular ‘ere.”

"Not a bad idea. Some recording equipment, a camera and a new cellphone...I could go with that." She thought where the closest one was. A few blocks? Wasn't too far either way. After grabbing some nice gadgets there she's have to ask if David knew where she could find a Ka-bar. There had to be one somewhere in the city. Taking a quick glance around to get her bearings she noticed something. "David... Best Buy is about four blocks away. However, the blackout is...moving."

“Course it’s moving,” Sledge said in response to the black out issue. The whole reason why he had decided to go looting was because the black out wasn’t limited to just one area of New York.. With it expanding in the city, the possibilities of stocking up were practically limitless. “We should shake a leg, before the grid manages too get back online righ’?” You could easily see the city’s dark zones expanding, as if the loss of electricity were a living thing that slowly was devouring New York. Since neither he or Seyta were near enough to the actual source of the darkness that he could realize how close that theory was.

He smiled at Seyta, the devil in his eyes. Sledge liked an element of danger whenever he was participating in an illegal activity. Big risks could mean big rewards, the important thing is to be wise about which of the risks you should take. As far as he could figure things, breaking into a building wouldn’t set off the alarms if the system had no power. Should the power come back while he was in there, no matter how he got in, the alarm more than likely would go off. Should he manage to bust the system’s components it would equal out to the same thing. Sledge’s grin lit up his entire face, and perhaps on a different man would look more threatening. His dimple softened it though, making him look younger and infinitely more mischievous. Even the look of pure trouble looked trustworthy to most.

And he craved that trust from people. Not simply because of that dream where he had to become dependable. Sledge still hated thinking of the way he was in that dream. Guilt was something to avoid, and in his opinion it was just better to not allow yourself to feel that way than to act in a way that you won’t regret your actions. Life was full of disappointments and failures. You would inevitably let someone down. To get what he wanted out of life, he needed to ignore that pesky thing called a conscious. Step on the bloody cricket and go on with your life. “Iffin we hear sirens approaching, which we most likely aren’t going to ‘ave to worry about, we’ll get out quick enough. I’ve my ways.”

>> “Course it’s moving. We should shake a leg, before the grid manages too get back online righ’?"

She nodded, the smile he gave her was eerily calming. In movies and the like it was the look that got the girl into a bad situation. Seyta however liked to think she could handle herself. Especially since David had proven to be easily moved by her mutation. Keeping him focused on her was the harder part.

>> “Iffin we hear sirens approaching, which we most likely aren’t going to ‘ave to worry about, we’ll get out quick enough. I’ve my ways.”

Seyta grinned and wrapped an arm around her knight. "Sounds like a plan. Electronics are a good start so lets go." She turned down the street, still holding onto David and started towards the nearest Best Buy.

"I know what I've been shopping for, but what does a ladybird like you want?" Sledge flirted, feeling emboldened by the arm that Seyta had so casually draped over his shoulder. In the past she had never been as friendly towards him. More often than not she was, at the very least, mildly annoyed at him. He knew that he could come on a little strong at times, but looking back at what he had said and done with her he had been nothing but polite. Well, polite might not be the most accurate term, but he hadn't been crude. And given that they had first met in a bar where he must have gotten bladdered, because a portion of the night still remained a blur, being a gentleman was impressive.

Even with the lights out in this portion of the city, there was still enough visibility to navigate the streets. Scientists were clearly correct about New York suffering from light pollution. No matter where you went it wasn’t entirely dark. A good thing too, since Sledge wasn’t carrying a torch. Managing his bags and the light would slow him down, and he wanted to be free to use either fist for his sledgehammer. Thin plastic clasped tightly in a fist was less of an intrusion on his powers than a torch would be. Just because he had stooped to the level of looting didn’t mean that he was going to go about this in a reckless way. Sledge believed there was a time for winging it, and a time to plan.

>> "I know what I've been shopping for, but what does a ladybird like you want?"

Seyta chuckled rolling her eyes. "I want everything." While she hadn't specifically thought about it She had been drinking tonight and felt ever so slightly fuzzy and the specifics of what to steal tonight where not as clear as she would normally like.. "I told you what I want at the Best Buy, but other than that I'll play it by ear." Grinning she nudged him slightly. If it helped hold his attention she didn't mind flirting a bit. Besides she did kind of like him, not that she had shown it much. Then again she also wasn't going to let herself get labeled wrong and small talk flirting was not her strong point.

A little bit of flirtation never hurt anyone, provided both parties were adults. Not only did it never hurt, but it was a wonderful way to spend time. What could make it better was when it's a lady that you've been trying to chat up for awhile now. She didn't really show much interest in him in the past, even if she did dance with him. That much he could remember. His dancing wasn't so bad that it would offend anyone. She just always seemed so angry at him.

“And for those of us who are unable to fit down the chimney with a satchel large enough for everything” he asked, giving her a nudge back. He was going to follow her lead on this. To an extent at least. Sledge wasn't of the school of thought that all Halloween costumes should be suggestive, thus the full length shirt that he was wearing and the knight get up. “What would such a person get you as a trinket on Christmas Day?”

It was strange, he supposed, to be thinking about Christmas presents for those he knew, especially since he hadn't even been in the country for a year. A gift for Kaitlyn was mandatory. The girl still was capable of blowing the whistle on him. Small sparkly things kept her from going to immigration. Giving the girl something largeish would only help to cement his security. Even if he didn't actually give Seyta a Christmas present that was alright. This was just playful banter, an attempt to chat her up. If she didn't want it, she shouldn't be wearing whatever that costume was, and walking with her arm around him. You just can't mess with a bloke like that.