Sara spent the night wondering. Trying to burn off the excess energy caused from her mutation. It wasn’t necessarily insomnia, because Sara wouldn’t be tired when she woke up, after going to sleep, however, it was still annoying. Sara had an over active healing power. She was not an insomniac!

No Wraith found her. No gangs shot her. No one tried to capture her. She didn’t read about herself in the tabloids. And no men tried to assault her. Or worst. Despite the boredom, it was a good night.

When she returned to the building, it had to be 5 am. The climb up the fire escape was made shorter, by, rather than walking up the stairs, the way she had gone down, she used the railings like a big sideways set of money bars. Her being the very little kid, at play. Her weight swung back and forth. Swinging her legs over one bar, and bracing her foot over it, to jump to the next, so that she wasn’t in view of the occupants inside. The legitimist residents, who left their windows open and happened to be early risers. She liked moving at these hours that were still dark. The brick work walls would be set in shadows, but the windows would tell Sara where it was bet to avoid. If a light was on, then a human, inside, was awake. Allowing Sara to plan her paths around the city, much easier.

The fire escape creaked, when she reached the area, just below the window, she had left open. Telling her to get her weight off of the bars. Her clawed feet hopped up, and she kicked off against the side of the building, leaping up and across so that her body twisted, to land against the building on the other side of the, narrow, alley way. Twisting back around, Sara repeated the kick, extending her arms forward, so that her clawed hands grabbed the top of her windowsill, and her feet sung over the threshold of the damaged fire escape, inside. Landing with a soft thump, safe, and inside.

The phone was pulled out of her pocket. And her coat was removed. Leaving both items on the floor, next to her bag, that hadn’t moved all night.

Luke's sleep had been fitful... ever time he woke it was to once again begin wondering how he could have misjudged Sara. Stealing to survive was one thing... but stealing from a friend was just wrong even though the law did not differenciate between the two crimes. Finaly about 5:00 a.m. the blind man forced himself to get up and start moving again. Outside the sun was on the verge of rising while much of the city continued to sleep. After toasting a bagel and slathering it with cream cheese, Luke satisfied his appetite and then set about getting dressed for the day. Wandering around New York in his costume would draw a lot of looks during the day time so a more neutral approach would be apropriate. After pulling on jeans, a t-shirt (black), windbreaker (dark blue), and sneakers Luke stuffed his Wraith costume into a backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Grabbing his sunglasses and cane Luke exited the apartment and headed to the street below.

***

It was almost 6:00 a.m. by the time Luke was able to get back to the perch where he had sat through much of the previous night. It was amazing just how bad traffic could be, even in the early morning hours. Sitting cross legged on the roof Luke took a sip of the hot chocolate he had bought from a street vendor to help ward off the early morning chill. Closing his eyes he savored the soothing flavors that rolled over his tongue and then, without the slightest hesitation Luke began to listen to the hearbeat of the city as he pulled an item from his jacket pocket... the one other item he had bought from the vendor where he had purchased his hot chocolate: a pre-paid cell phone. As Luke listened to the city he dialed his original cell phone number and then waited, a slight smirk on his face as he waited to see how Sara would enjoy her early morning wake up call.

Sara had left the window open, when she went to sleep. Curling with her back against the wall, she allowed herself to stretch out on the floor. One arm making a pillow for her head. Her other arm arched over her face, to act as a blind fold against the sun, that was, just beginning, to invading her space, through the window. No it wasn't in the sky yet, but the rays could be seen at the edge of the horizon. If she timed things right, she would have just enough sleep, before visiting that customer.

Sara had just gotten to sleep when her pet phone started trumpeting out, the flight of the Valcyrie while it danced across the hard wood floor. Sara’s face squeezed, and her eyes tightened, with an annoyed snarl. The arm over her head thumped against the floor as she smacked her head down on the phone, grabbed it, and pulled it to her face. Her thumb flipped it open, and her voice tightened, as she spoke.

“Big Al’s road side, taxidermy. You mow them down. We tack them up. Why the F*** would you call this early?!” Note to self. The pet phone can be turned off at night.

"Good morning sunshine!" Luke replied cheerfully, the smirk on his face turning in a slightly larger malicious grin, "I hope you slept well. Care to meet for a cup of coffee? It'll be my treat Sara."

Luke knew his whole attitude was over the top but he wanted to rub it in at least a ltitle bit. Sara was the one that had chosen to steal his phone and if she hadn't been smart enough to turn the phone off then it was her own fault. Taking a sip of his hot chocolate the blind man managed to contain all of his laughter as he listened to the cat make her reply.

Sara moved her arm under her head, letting her head drop and thump against the floor. Ouch! Ok that was a mistake.

“I’m flattered you’re still talking to me, but I hate coffee. Too bitter.” Ha! Take that Mr. Luke Who!. A statement as metaphorical, for the situation, as it was true. Sara moved the phone closer to her eyes to read the time. With her ears, there was little point to hold the phone the way a normal person would. “You sound entirely too cheery for this time of day.” She grumbled.

"My cheerfulness could probably be atributed to the fact that I took the time to get some sleep last night while you, obviously following the lifestyle of felines everywhere, chose to prowl around." Luke answered immediately, making assumption that he hoped would hit the nail directly on the head, "And I must agree with you on the coffee... maybe I'll buy you a cup of hot chocolate some time."

Lifting the cup to his mouth the blind man took another sip and swallowed before continueing the conversation. "And speaking of buying food and drink... Johnny said to tell you hello. From the smells around that place you must eat well whenever you dine there."

Dropping that litle piece of information was designed to elicit some sort of reaction. Obviously it would show Sara that he had been looking for her and it would also help her to realize that he had more resources at his disposal than she had previously believed. "I don't thinks he even knows about my hearing so she probably won't make that connection." Luke thought to himself as he brought the phone up close to his ear, once again concentrating on the background noises, "Unless she's smarter than I give her credit for. No telling I suppose."

Sara took in the information again, sitting up, and crossing her legs. Free hand pinching the area between her eyes. They still felt so heavy. The message from Johnny was what started to make her wake up faster. She held still. Hunched over, as she thought the information over. Ok. So what were the clues that lead him to find the restraint where Sara liked to eat?

He called her while she was finishing the meal. Check. Johnny did talk to her while she was on the phone. Check. How long was it before she hung up? Sara hadn’t given him any verbal clues as to where she was, so that left everything else that was happening around her. How good was his hearing?

The information that he had gotten close wasn’t something Sara reacted to with Shock, but rather, something she strived to work out logically. Sara’s mind was still piecing together the mystery, so her end was quiet for about three seconds before she responded. “So tell me. Did you lie to him using your face, or using the mask?” Johnny wouldn’t talk to just anyone about her.

A bird, somewhere outside Sara’s window called out, and she froze. Staring at the speaker of the phone that was in front of her. Oh that was interesting…

Sara’s ears flicked back and forth. Listening to the sounds that came from outside, through the speaker of the phone, like everything was in stereo. Only muffled in the little device. So Luke was going to play that way. “Johnny’s a good kid. Gullible, but a good kid.” Sara said into the receiver. Pushing herself off of the floor, and moving to the window, where she could stick her nose out into the air.

“About that hot drink. Lets not and say we didn’t.” Sara clicked the phone shut, and stood there, leaning out her window. Looking back and forth at the alley below. Where was he? Ok the birds weren’t calling out from the ground… Her head tilted up towards the roof.

"I stuck with my masked face when I was talking with Johnny." Luke answered between sips of hot chocolate, "And I didn't have to lie to him... rumor has it that the gang you faced down is looking for help in removing a certain cat-lady thread that has suddenly popped up. I just told Johnny that I had that information."

"Of course, I didn't tell him I had your phone number and I didn't tell him that I don't know for sure that this is true... more than likely it is because that's how gangs operate but that's why it's only a rumor." Luke thought to himself, the smirk still on his face.

Finally, as Sara clicked her phone shut Luke shook his head and smiled grimly. Taking another sip of hot chocolate he closed his eyes tighlty, listening carefully as he dialed the number again. If she were close and he paid attention then he just might be able to hear the phone start ringing which would give him a chance to find her. Something he had said had spooked her otherwise the witty conversation might have carried on longer... the big question was what exactly had done the spooking.

The information about the gang was insulting. Sara didn’t need his help if it was true, and the sound of his voice… It wasn’t right. It reminded her of the ways she talked when she wasn’t telling the complete truth.

Sara didn’t budge from the window. She stood there, looking up at the roof, wondering how close he really was, when her phone rang again. That’s right Mr. Who’s Luke. Her Phone. Her phone that was starting to vibrate, and sing the flight of the valcyrie… again… While Sara stood by the open window…

With her thumb, she flipped the phone open again. “You don’t give up do you.” Sara was unnerved that she had been found, but as far as she knew, Wraith, Luke, had nothing on her physically. The confidence from that assumption kept her from bolting. Of course she could be wrong.

"Somehow I doubt you're opinion of me would improve at all if I did give up." Luke replied as soon as the connection was made. Sara couldn't be to close or he would have heard the ring tone. She must still be at least a block or two away from this corner but there was no way to be sure. He had to have more clues but all he was getting from her area was the sound of Sara talking... it was a little echoey so it could have been an abandoned building or at least a somewhat empty building.

"That doesn't narrow the search down much." He thought wryly to himself as he took another sip of hot chocolate.

"So how about we call and truce and you give me back my phone. I'll stay out of your business and let you go back to your life of burglary and theft while I got back to my life of daily business and nightly crime fighting."

Luke had to admit that this annoying Sara and making her jumpy was kind of fun. She knew she was being hunted now and while on the one hand it would make her more careful, one the other it would make her more nervous and possibly apt to make at least a few stupid mistakes.

"I can make it really a very simple option for you... I want my phone back because of the numbers I have saved in it, however they are replacable. If you don't want to return it then I simply call the phone company, have them deactive that phone while I get a knew one. Not difficult but a hassle none the less."

For a second the blind man fell silent as he allowed the cat to think about what he was saying before continuing in a quiet voice. "The ball's in your court Sara."

"Somehow I doubt you're opinion of me would improve at all if I did give up."

Sara leaned her shoulder against the wall just inside her window. Oh two could play at this. Slowly, Sara crawled out onto the edge of her window sill. Careful to cradle the phone against her shoulder, as she slowly scooted herself around, to the corner of the building. Using her claws to hook into the ledges, to give herself as secure of grip as possible. “You never know.” She mused.

"So how about we call and truce and you give me back my phone. I'll stay out of your business and let you go back to your life of burglary and theft while I got back to my life of daily business and nightly crime fighting."

Where was he? She was trying to place the sounds that she was hearing outside the phone, with the sounds she was hearing in the receiver. Slowly she crept along the new side. “Isn’t that contradictory for a crime fighter to do? I mean, I’d think you’d still be wanting to stop me.”

Sara hated to admit it, but once the shock, that Luke knew the Sara’s favorite place to eat, and that he had followed her to within a few buildings, it had turned fun. A game. He was looking for her, and now she would be doing the same. She paused, while clinging to the other side of the building, hoping to triangulate the sounds. Trying to map them out in her head. He had a radar. Her goal wasn’t to get within that, and she didn’t know how big that radar could be right now.

"I can make it really a very simple option for you... I want my phone back because of the numbers I have saved in it, however they are replacable. If you don't want to return it then I simply call the phone company, have them deactive that phone while I get a knew one. Not difficult but a hassle none the less."

“Me being a hassle, imagine that.” Sara mused on the other side.

"The ball's in your court Sara."

“Really.” Sara’s tail flicked behind her heals, where her toes were clutching the brick work as much as her feline finger. Moving just the way a normal cat’s tail flicks, just before they try to play. “How about I keep your phone. It’s a good tool, even if I can’t call anyone.” Sara was grinning on the other side of the line. He had phone numbers saved, and Sara would have a chance to find out who those people were. Were they business customers? Were they associates? Were they friends? Sara could find out. She wondered if Wraith, had ever heard of a reverse 411. She could google the turn, and come up with a web site, that would give her the addresses of anyone on Mr. Jacobs’s address book, and number listed on his call log. This may be the first Cell phone Sara ever had. That didn’t mean she wasn’t techno savvy with it.

Not that Sara would take advantage of those numbers... Or would she....

It sounded as though Sara were beginning to enjoy this and that was a little annoying to the blind man. Sighing inwardly he tried to figure out what would be the best game plan on how to handle this particularly annoying cat-lady. But at least the day was pleasant even if the phone conversation wasn't particularly so. The sun was beginning to brighten the city streets and a block of two away he could hear the sound of doves cooing from their rooftop perches. Overhead a seagull screamed as it soared looking for food. Below traffic was beginning to pick up with the incessar sounds of honking beginning to fill the air. A slight breeze ruffled Luke's hair but he was ignoring all of these details as he kept his attention on the phone conversation.

"So is annoying people really that entertaining for you?" He asked, continueing to maintain the cheerful sound in his voice even thuogh it was getting increasingly diffcult. Idly he noted that his sonar, which currently covered the whole rooftop where he sat was clear. "I would have thought a friend of Raina's would treat people with at least a little more respect and courtesy than that. And as for my crimefighting stopping your life of crime, I'm not really worried about you. You steal to survive from all indications which makes it a moot point. Especially with the kind of attitude you get from most people because of the way you look. Now if you were stealing for a drug habbit or stealing to get rich we'd have a completely different situation."

Truth? Not completely... Luke still had a hard time accepting that someone had to steal to survive but in Sara's case he was willing to make an exception. He knew there weren't many employers that were willing to hire individuals that were obvious mutants but surely she could have found some type of career that would keep her off the streets.

"So is annoying people really that entertaining for you?"

“On occasion, I find someone worth my time to annoy.” Individuals who Sara saw, normally weren’t being fully true.

Sara leaned Her claw pads into the wall, and slowly began to creep back into to her window. The statement he made about Sara being a friend of Raina’s nearly made her drop the phone, and she had to sacrifice a hand, holding her to the wall, to grab for the phone, before it could fall to the cement. Making part of the rest of Luke’s statement muffled in and out, as scuffling sounds filled the pone on her side. Ok no dropping this thing.

Sure Sara really liked Raina. The two got along well, and after Raina’s latest mutation that took place at the camps, Sara had found herself drawn to the girl’s company. Not just because of the fact her mutation was like a fish. “I’m going.” Sara said after a second or two. Once she had the phone steadied in her grasp. Sara’s voice was no longer having fun. Way to Guilt trip her Luke. “You’re right. I was out prowling all night like a cat on the street. I’m tired.” But Sara didn’t hang up yet. She was trying to decide exactly what she wanted to do. Did she really want the phone? Yes. No. But Yes. Would she really use the numbers on it. Maybe. She couldn’t say she wouldn’t. She wanted to say she wouldn’t, but the curiosity was there, and once knowledge came from her fulfilling curiosity, Sara knew temptation would follow.

“good night Luke.” Sara crept around the corner, but no longer kept the care of being so quiet. She let her movement and sounds get sloppy, and allowed her claws to tap against the brick and slide. Still the line was open.

Luke continued to strain to recognize the background noises as Sara spoke to him but there was nothing distinctive enough to narrow down exactly where she might be. "Still could be almost any warehouse or somewhat empty apartment building." He thought to himself, "Maybe it's time to throw her a bone... figuratively of course."

"How about I make you an offer Sara." Luke said, hoping that she was still listening even though she had already said her 'good night'. "Meet me tonight after dark. I'll stay out of costume and we'll talk... I'll explain myself and if you accept my explanation you can give me back the phone. I'm not out to make you my enemy or even to send you on a guilt trip, I'm just trying to get my phone back. And if you want honesty, probably the two most important numbers in there are for either the home office of 'Jacobs & Jacobs' or for Raina. I value friends Sara and I'd like you to be one, if you give me half a chance."

"How about I make you an offer Sara."

Sara stopped, nearly to her window. Still clinging to the ledge. The truth is that Sara knew that he shouldn’t have to make her an offer. She didn’t have to admit that though. While Luke continued, Sara made her way back to her window, sideways spidercat style.

Her right hand braced on the top of the window, and she sung herself inside, landing with a thud, inside her room. For a minute she was motionless.

"Meet me tonight after dark.

Yeah right

I'll stay out of costume and we'll talk...

OK, maybe.

I'll explain myself and if you accept my explanation you can give me back the phone.

.. .. .. ..

Sara continued to be silent as she listened. Weather it was the tiredness, or the fact he freely used Raina as a guilt trip. It didn’t matter if he intended to or not, it was still a guilt trip. “I’ll meet you any time, after 6 pm, Anywhere.” After Sara helped Luke’s customer at 3 pm, of course. Sara was still indecisive on what he was really going to do there. “Just call when you’re ready.”