Tses listened closely as Colt started explaining things, but she had to admit, a lot of it went over her head. There were no 'tactics' in Tses world. There was action, and reaction. You lived by the day to day. Plans just had a way of reality. So to hear someone talk about strategies, and piece together a course of action like this was a bit much. She brushed flakes of snow out of her hair, and adjusted her stance so she wasn't leaning over as awkwardly. The cold air was probably getting into the cab, but she still wasn't certain whether to sit back down, or leave now while she had the chance.

"Honestly, this is all a bit much for me. I don't know the first thing about strategy let alone killing someone." She was glad there was no one around eavesdropping on this conversation. Two mutants plotting murder in a midnight black impala. That wasn't odd at all.

She exhaled and tried to gather her thoughts, and then answered his last question. "He's going to be back tomorrow. Full moon. Kinda a joke to him I guess." She snorted slightly, and sighted, rubbing her forehead. "Kinda a jab more than anything else. It's when my powers are strongest, so it's like daring me to try something." From experience, there were rarely times where accepting a cocky challenge just resulted in more trouble in the long run. Then again, she also knew from experience that arrogance could only get you so far.

Colt could understand that this was a bit much for her… he had gone from trying to take her under his wing, to plotting to save her soul by murdering someone else, in a very short amount of time. So he took a breath, and broke down exactly what he needed to make this happen. “Don’t worry about killing him. Your only job will be to hold his attention during the meeting between you two. What I need to know is there someone you can trust… someone you would be willing to put your life in the hands of?” It was a simple, precise question… they needed a third person, and likely, it was going to be the person she was trying to protect.

It was generally better that way though… it allowed the person who was being threatened to have a hand in their own survival. But in the games of lives, mistakes could not be made. He would have to make sure that the person he found as the Shadow wasn’t able to twist things around while he was off taking care of the coward the following night. While he mused on exactly how to do that without killing the man, he waited for her response. He would probably start by dislocating his shoulders, and then seeing where the man stood on if he wanted to ever be able to use his knees again or not. Chances were he would comply, but he couldn’t take many chances.

Tses listened to the question, and as it was posed the second time, she finally started to try and process it. She knew the name right off hand, but trying to say it left her feeling a bit hurt and confused. A week ago, she would have said Ty, hands down. He was the one person she would have trusted with her life, the one person she knew would be there for her. But in this New Year, she felt like she was back to square one. And square one was a place where you faced the darkness alone.

"No... There's no one I can trust." She felt herself saying, and the words cut her up inside. But she kept her face blank, and made the decision. Whatever happened, she'd just have to do it without him. Even though this was a stranger, in a way, it felt better that way.

"I know it'll probably be harder without extra hands, but I don't want to risk anyone else anyway. And that includes you." Her gaze sharpened on him, and she glared for a second. Her statement probably wouldn't do much, but she still felt the need to try at least. "The last thing I need is to get someone else killed along with me." She shifted her stance again, the wind blowing from behind her, and she tried to imagine what thoughts this stranger was thinking. She'd never met someone who'd killed. And certainly not someone who seemed so calm and collected about it.

He didn’t quite believe that she didn’t have anyone, otherwise, she wouldn’t have someone she wanted to protect so much that she would do the bidding of someone else. Still, the decision was made, and she even tried to push Jacob out of the picture… but he wasn’t going to shy away from it that easily. “If you want this to end, you are going to need help… and I would be honored to put a bullet through both his ears.” And that was that. He then switched gears… “We should still be fine without the extra help,” he said, thinking for a moment, “so our first order of business is finding this shadow. Hop in, and we will get close and see if we can spot him.”

He waited for her to make her choice. If she stepped into the car, she would be taking a step towards freedom, and ending the torment she was under. If she turned her back, Jacob would find him and kill him anyway, and make the world a better place. People like that were better off not being around to torment and pillage the weak… and he would feel better knowing that he has saved all the future victims of that person and prevented the tragedies that he would cause. He thought for a moment about the weapons he had in his shop, thinking about which long-rifle he would want to use to end his life. Couldn’t use the 50 cal, too high velocity and could hurt Tses… but the 308 should be good.

Crossroads: there were points in your life they appeared, and you knew what choice you made would effect the future to follow. They were like doors that opened up in your life, and you could almost see the invisible glimmer of a choice before your eyes. In this moment, Tses faced one. It was right inside the midnight black impala, somewhere next to the tall stranger in the drivers seat. She could still turn around, and go back to her apartment. She could still go back to stealing, and living off the streets, and going by life day to day. Or she could go forward, and try to change her future; take her life into her own hands. As the cold blizzard blew outside, and the snow melted in the heat of the car, she knew there was only one real option: get in. Moving the phone off the seat, she sat down, and shut the door. It sealed the fate and the future, whatever it would hold. then she turned to the man next to her.

"Ok... let's find this 'shadow'." She said, and flicked a drop of snow off her face. She glanced at him, then back out into the snowy whiteness, trying to imagine how this was going to work. She'd never tracked anyone down before. If she had, she'd probably have figured out where Ty was by now and confronted him. But people made a lot less sense than objects did. She could find all kinds of things like jewelry or a good person to pick-pocket, but she couldn't find her boyfriend in New York.

Jacob waited patiently for her to make her decision. When she finally stepped into the car, and shut the door, the choice had been made, and all that was left was figuring out the next plan of action until this entire ordeal was complete. He addressed her now with some simple facts. “In order to find him, we are going to have to find whoever it is that is being threatened. Who is it that this coward is saying he is going to hurt? And if you know, where is he or she?” He wouldn’t ask why the person meant so much to her… that wasn’t his business… all that mattered was that the next 48 hours go according to the plan that was rapidly forming in his mind, and they had some work to do to make it all happen.

As he waited for her to answer, he pulled out his smartphone, and began to think of ways to track down the person shadowing him. The phone was more tech than mech, and it was harder for him to sense, but he could as long as he focused. That would likely be the easiest way to track down the Shadow once they found the hostage, and idly he wondered if the hostage even knew that he was being held. The best criminals made sure they put Shadows in place that couldn’t be seen by the hostage, so they wouldn’t know they were being observed… but he could be overestimating the coward’s forward thinking.

Tses listened the the question, and her face pulled into a frown. She should have known she'd need to know where Ty was, but then again, that always seemed to be the problem lately. She sighed slightly, and tried to think of any clue to where the kid was. But unlike many things in their slightly messed up relationship, not knowing where Ty lived was a side effect. "The person they're threatening is Ty Fisher. But, I don't know where he is... I saw him just before New Years, but we got in a fight and he hasn't come by since..." She forced herself not to mention getting stood up on New Years, but she was bad at hiding her emotions sometimes, and it probably showed through. She composed herself, and continued. "He's never told me where he lived, but that's kinda what happens when you're used to livin' on the street. Probably dumb I don't know, but whatever." She wondered what would make things difficult. Most likely it would. She tried to rack her brain for what she knew of Kystler anyway.

"Kystler's never really been big on sneaking around though... If he knew where Fisher was, he'd probably be gloating it at me by now... It's like the whole thing about choosing the Full Moon as the time to meet. He likes to show off his strength, and make other people feel lesser than him." She hoped at least the last bit would help. Maybe the shadow would be waiting somewhere for Ty to reappear. Traps weren't beyond the man, and he was lazy enough that she could imagine him waiting for someone to come along rather than wasting time chasing after them.

Jacob listened to the young woman about her situation, and pieced together that Ty Fisher was likely in a relationship, however bumpy, with Tses. That was why she cared about him enough that his life was in danger… and the plan formed in his mind a bit more. He knew how to draw out the Shadow now… and seeing that it was likely that Kystler didn’t know where Ty was, it made this job a lot easier. “That makes things a lot easier. That means they will have your apartment under surveillance, and we can draw out this Shadow into our trap.”

He then began to look around. “I’ll explain on the way, but first I need to know exactly where your apartment is so we can get there.” He said plainly, waiting for directions or an address, and then they were rolling down the road again. Without stopping, he scanned the area, keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious. “When we get there, you are going to step out and turn, look at me and say ‘Let me go grab my phone charger, and we will meet up with him.’ That will bait the Shadow into following us, thinking we will lead him to Ty. Once I know who it is, I will wait a few minutes until no one else is around, and then take control of his car, locking him inside his own vehicle, and… persuade him… to cooperate with us.” It was simple enough, and it would work, but he needed to know how much of that she was tracking, even if he was trying to walk her through it, step by step. She wasn’t a child, but perhaps her forward planning was a little rusty…

Listening was never one of Tses's strong suits, but when it involved life or death risk, she could handle it. With each instruction from the stranger, she made mental notes and hoped she could keep all of this straight in the end. It was a risky process, but if it kept Ty safe, and helped her in the long run, it would be worth it.

"Well, the apartment I live at it a few blocks past the grocery store. You take a left, and it's the one with the silver fire escape but the top half is red. That's the best way to recognize it." She commented. The street number would help if there were a sign to really look for. It was a bit on the shadier side of things here in Manhattan, but that's what kept the cost of rent down. As they drove, Tses fidgeted slightly, but slowly calmed her expressions. She'd done stressful jobs in the past, and this was just another of them. The key was just to treat it like work, and let things work out from there.

As they pulled up at the apartment, Tses did as she was instructed, although she didn't word it quite as exactly as he had. That would have sounded unnatural from her. Instead, it was "Let me grab my charger, then we can meet up with him." Hopefully it was close enough. The 'him' came out with a softer h, but she kept her voice up which didn't sound too out of place with the wind starting to blow and making it difficult to talk outside the care. Shutting the door, she scurried through the snow and towards her building. Rather than go through the front door (she never did, so that would look odd anyway), she gave a little jump, caught the fire escape, and scurried up the metal rungs with an almost feline grace. It was clear why she was chosen for the jobs she was. She was good and moving fast and her slim figure helped her do things someone bulkier would have trouble with. Especially someone trailing her. If she had to bet, anyone watching her would have to go inside the building, or wait until she was all the way in her room. Few people risked the fire escapes unless there was a fire.

Once inside apartment 66, Tses shut the window, and brushed snow from her hair and stamped her cold feet. Her heat was down, so it wasn't super warm, but it was enough to tickle her skin and wake her up a bit. Moving through the apartment, she went over to her dresser and started pretending to look for something. At least that way it would look like she really was getting something, rather than watching for trouble.

It seemed like she was more focused now… that was good, she was pushing aside her pride and rebellious nature to get something done, and he could ask no more from her than her best. Jacob was sticking his neck out for her, and he believed that she knew that… this was no small risk for him, either. If they were somehow caught or anything of that nature, he would wind up in jail, regardless of his connections and friends. Still, it would be worth it… she would finally be free to do what she wanted, and have the life of a upstanding citizen. They pulled into the area of her apartment, and he began to sweep the area both with his eyes and his ability. She performed her little bit of acting perfectly, and moved towards her apartment.

He watched her only for a moment, marveling at her acrobatic nature, and wondered if it was just sheer skill, or some use of her mutant ability. But then he quickly returned to the point at hand, and noticed immediately that a car turned off, a relatively large thug looking man stepping out of the vehicle. Stepping out of his own car, he feigned that he was simply watching the fire escape, but the idiot was wearing a Rolex watch, and he locked onto the mechanical signature it was giving him. Luckily, they were in a bad part of town, so a simple act of violence wasn’t likely to get reported… not to mention the fact that he was going to try to do this as simply as possible.

The thug’s path led directly in front of his Impala. Without hesitation, he made a simple inquiry. “Excuse me Sir…” It was enough to get his attention off his goal and on to him, which was all he needed. Planting his feet, he prepared the action by holding out his hand in the form of a handshake… The man looked down at the hand, and in a blur of movement, Colt grabbed the back of his neck with his other hand, and smashed his forehead into the pure steel construction of Jacob’s car’s roof. He went down quickly, and Jacob fished three large double ended Zip-Ties from his pockets, rolled the man over with his foot, and made a pair of make-shift handcuffs all in the matter of a couple of seconds. His feet and hands were bound together, and then they were bound to each other, so he couldn’t pull his hands out in front of him. With ease, he lifted the man up, opened his back door, and threw him into it. He was still conscious, but quite dazed and in pain. Looking in the back door, he made the conditions clear.

“I don’t have an issue with you yet, so I would rather you lived. You don’t give me any issues, and you will keep breathing… as well as the ability to walk, because I will break your knees if you do something stupid.” The thug, bewildered, nodded enthusiastically, a small bit of blood on his forehead where he had impacted the car. Jacob then shut the door and looked towards the apartment, hopefully where she was watching, and waited until he had eye contact… and then a quick wave before getting back in the car and waiting for her to get in with her.

After a few minutes, Tses moved back to the window, and caught the tail end of Colt's engagement with the thug. The force the mans head hit the car with made her flinch slightly, and she empatheticly rubbed her forehead. Nervous energy trickled through her body, but she calmed herself as she reopened the window and stepped onto the fire escape. The cold air nipped her face again, and she considered going back for a jacket. But at Jacobs hand-wave, she descended the fire escape, jumping the bit and landing in a crouch.

Brushing off her hands she moved back to the car, and slipped into the front seat. The cars interior was warmer, but the shock of the temperature changes made her skin feel like it was crawling with a hundred needles. Her face was pink, as were her ears, but she was calm and collected. With the snowy world behind her, Tses pushed her hair out of the face, and glanced at Jacob. She refused to look at the man in the back seat. "Now what?"[/color] She asked, uncertain of what they would do next.

Jacob, noticing that she still hadn’t grabbed anything to keep warm with, immediately maneuvered his leather jacket off and put it in her lap. “You might be getting out more than me, and it will keep you warm.” The leather jacket was heavy… it still had his pistol in it. He had given it to her for a reason, so he wasn’t tempted to shoot this idiot riding in the back seat. That being said, the engine roared as they moved expediently, although still mindful of the speed limit, towards Jacob’s shop.

“What happens now depends a lot on him… What’s your name, and don’t give me any of that slang or code-name bull$#!7.” He waited a moment for the man to respond, who was likely still partially dazed from the hit, which would help keep him honest. “Alright… this is how this is going to work. I am going to ask a question, and you are going to give me an answer. If it’s a lie, and believe me, I will know, I will break a finger… and that’s just a warm up… understand?” He waited a moment for that to sink into his thick skull, and then continued.

“Firstly, I want to know if you are the only one tasked with watching her place, and if you know of anything else that could be held over Tses’ head as leverage. He would wait for this answer, but now he was a little more intimidating with his jacket off, as he was still a very large, muscular guy more than capable of handling this punk. He did decide, before he could answer, to offer a little bit more incentive. “Your boss is dying tomorrow, and that is all there is to it. If you want to live longer than him, you won’t give me any reason to want to hurt you.” The cold sense of death could be heard in his voice… he was as serious as Death himself.

Tses felt startled when Jacob handed her his jacket. The only other time she'd been handed a jacket was by Ty, and that one never did get returned. Stranger's jackets always felt strange. They were sized oddly and had different smells to them. If Tses had to bet, Jacob's smelt like machines or cars. It just seemed to fit the profile she'd built of the intimidating man. Tses wasn't sure what her clothes smelt like; certainly nothing flowery like most girls but definitely not manly like Ty or Jacob.

As she adjusted the jacket, the weight pressed against her leg and she had to stifle the urge to see what was there. She'd never held a gun before, usually relying on her powers or her hand to hand combat skills to deal with people, so the thought didn't immediately come to mind. Perhaps a part of some sort... She pulled her mind away from that, and listened in as the goon in the back seat started to talk.

"Name's Jack Gillian, Most people call me Gill, and you don't have to waste your breathe with all the threats and torture promises. I've been around the block a few times, and I don't trust Kystler any farther than I could throw a stick." The man put on a tough face, and his gaze was sharp beneath his bleeding forehead. Tses had been in his shoes, and knew how to read the expression. It was a slightly defiant fear. You never admitted how much you wanted to live, because groveling usually just made you coward-like and made the situation worse. But even from her seat, she could see a sliver of the individual in the rear-view mirror, and the fear showed her enough. This wasn't a man working for Kystler because they were buddies. He was probably in it for the convenience. Money, thrills, occasionally beating someone lifeless and getting away with it; she could almost bet this man started like her, just hoping to clear his record. Now, that record was stained with enough blood no one could truly wipe it away.

"Kystler's a mutant hunter. Hates 'em, does what he can to shift the balance in the human's favor. His favorite way to do that is manipulatin' other mutants to act against their kind. Like you're darlin' friend here. Found 'er when she was only 9. Started young. Stole a staff from on o' my buddies in Chicago. Not many could get away with that, but we figured she could be useful. Kystler had me watch her once she came to New York; this is my territory, see. " The man coughed, flinching slightly with pain he tried to hide, then he started speaking again, face grimacing slightly as his blood ran towards his mouth. "Kid's got less on her than most. No real friends, 'cept that Ty kid. Although, they certainly seemed cute together. Oh, I'm sure your trip to the zoo would have been so cute if it weren't for that guard that came in halfway...."

Tses bristled at his comment, but refused to turn and look at him. She knew when she was being baited, and resisted the impulse to smack him, or shove something explosive down his throat. The man chuckled, and smiled slowly. "Got a lot of power, that one, and a powerful tempter. But no desire to kill, no desire to hurt others. Could've worked for him like the rest of us. Too bad she's too weak."

Jacob was in a certain mindset right now… a dangerous, cold state of mind that did cold calculation and did what was necessary to accomplish the mission. He hated being like this, but knew that it was needed to do what had to be done. The man began to talk, but while he was focused on driving and the road, that came naturally, like breathing, and thus, he was able to give his hostage his full and undivided attention.

Colt listened to him carefully, putting pieces together of each word, and listening to his tone carefully for any signs of lies or half-truths. The man gave him enough respect to tell him the truth though, so he would keep his end of the bargain and leave him unharmed… well, any more than he already was. As the man finished, he put a few things in order. “Well, Jack, I suspect there is more story as to why this is ‘your territory’ but that much is irrelevant. You have respected me enough to tell me the truth, so you may address me as ‘Colt’ or Sir. Your pick. Now, tell me everything you know about the meeting tomorrow… the both of you. Tses, you first, and Jack fill in the holes or correct any lies she has been fed. I need to know location, who is going with Kystler to the meeting, everything. And I have a feeling there is more reason to wanting to do it on the full moon than to tempt Tses’ wrath.”

He had given him a chance to redeem himself, and walk away from this situation without any more harm coming to him… it was up to Jack to take it. Still, a lot of this hinged on the information he was receiving, and he was not about to take any chances. He also did pause staring at the road long enough to get a good look at Tses’ hair… he needed to know how easy it would be to cover so none fell out where the meeting was taking place, and he had an assortment of hats and other headgear that might suffice and still be practical.

He then addressed one last thing. “Not everyone is able to take another life… that isn’t weakness, that is the nature of most of humanity, mutant or not. No one is born with the desire to kill, it is something that is bred or forced… and missing that is a sign of hope, not weakness.” And he would hear no more on that.

Tses listened to Jacob speak, and when he addressed her, she frowned just slightly as she tried to remember the encounter with Kystler. "Honestly, he didn't tell me much. He just showed up at the apartment one day, told me I had a job and he would come back on the full moon. But in the past, it's always been the same. He comes down the hallway, knocks on the door. If I answer, things go easy. If I don't... well, let's say it's better to answer."[/color] She rubbed her right arm slightly in memory, and almost felt the tingles of pain echoing from the past.

"He's trained you, just like the rest of us. And that will be the reason this encounter will be so dangerous." Jack chuckled but even with it's malicious tone, it sounded like he related to what was happening. "You can't count on what you expect, because that's all going to change. In the past, you were inexperienced. He made you feel powerless, and he's learned your weaknesses. For such a spitfire, it's pretty easy for him to take you out: tie together your lovely little hands, and you can either blow yourself up, or be at his mercy." Tses's face lost a bit of color, and she stared at the snow through the window with renewed determination.

"He'd have to get a hold of them to do that." Tses said, her voice almost a growl. Jack chuckled from the back seat.

"So confident, but you've always been so human. Knock out gas does wonders; just throw it through a window. And you always did love your little fire escapes. Easy for you to get out. But also easier for others to get in. And that's just what he's planning on doing.

"You see: no matter what choice you'd make, he'd still take you out before you can react, stop all chance of struggle. Just showing up for a meeting give you too much time to plan, too much time to attack if you don't want to go with his plan, but don't want anyone hurt. There is another reason to keep you restrained though. He'd want collateral." He let the words hand in the air, grinning slightly, then continued, as if amused by the sick plan.

"Kystler would make you wait: wait for your little boyfriend to come back. Make you contemplate the decision while seeing someone's life in the balance. You can give whatever answer you want, but it won't matter until you're staring down the consequences. If you still refuse? You won't die, at least right away. That would be easy. He'd make you watch Ty die first."

Nausea built in Tses throat, and she tried to shut out the threat. But his words burned in her mind. The only thing she could do now was get rid of the source of the pain. The first way to do that was to get rid of this dark ghost rising from her past.

"So, What do we do? Try to get him before he gets me?" Tses said, the question directed to Jacob.