Apparently Roland wasn't the only one present with other things on their mind. Vega was definitely preparing for a quiet dinner with someone special. Her apparent surprise at his approach confirmed her daydreaming. With sweet pink cheeks, she did some nervous straightening." "I-I'm sorry. Would you like me to get something for you too?" Roland smiled and pulled one of his hefty platinum clipped bankrolls from his pocket. "No, I believe I am fine. In fact, let me take care of it for you. I surely make a shade more than the average book store clerk."

He laid a bill down that was more than enough, waving his hand to indicate his not needing change returned. The man behind the counter smiled in a fat way and scurried about, offering a gift basket as well. Roland graciously accepted it."I just wanted to share a meal with my friend back at the Mansion... OR it could be lunch for tomorrow." Roland nodded and grinned. " I feel sure your friend will be very lucky with your presence as well as the meal." A girl this attractive didn't go home alone and if she did, she surely didn't sleep alone.

Roland felt it was a pity that he couldn't be the one to bed her, at least once. Her soft skin, pink cheeks and sweet smell all radiated just the right kind of ambiance. He carried the basket and waited for her. " So, which way is home?"

Orlando pulled out a wad of bills that had to be as big as her fist. Even if this was New York, not a whole lot of people walked around with that kind of money. Ghost blinked and reminded herself that this man was a mugger of muggers. It was easy to forget that since the man standing beside her was so polite. "...let me take care of it for you. I surely make a shade more than the average book store clerk."

But then again he could have come by it honestly. This was New York. He'd said he'd earned it, right? Ghost looked at the feeble, crumpled bills in her hand. Not even counting the denominations, they seemed worth so much less than Orlando's smooth and smartly folded bills. She bit her lip and re-stuffed the money into her pockets. She should probably get a wallet some day now that she actually had some things that were important enough to keep track of. "Thank you. That's really kind of you."

It was kind to the man behind the counter too. He shuffled around with a slightly brighter expression. He returned a little of that kindness with a basket. While the clerk was scuttling Orlando took the opportunity to let her know that he had seen through her excuses. She lifted her shoulders in a delicate shrug followed with a sigh. Ah well. There was no reason to hide the fact that she was planning to share dinner with someone.

"So, which way is home?"[/color]

"I dunno. Where do you live?" She asked innocently enough as she took her brown bag in hand and they made their way out from the store. The Mansion was always the Mansion. Although it was her home technically, it still hadn't registered as home for her. It had only been a few months. Ghost took her apron from her back pocket and dropped it into the bag. "I usually just take the bus home. Uhm. I think North is that way? Maybe?" She motioned to the west-- slightly north, but mostly west. It was harder to tell since it was completely dark now, but if he needed directions to get his bearings so he could walk home she was doing her best. "But I would love to see you at the store again someday. Uhm... perhaps inside and at a normal hour next time? Oh and thanks for the rescue... and the meal." Within the realm of polite conversation this was time for goodbyes unless Orlando required something more.

"I dunno. Where do you live? I usually just take the bus home. Uhm. I think North is that way? Maybe?"So precious and innocent. What seemed at first as a deft way of turning Roland's intentions around on him had turned out to be little more than Vega not thinking that way at all. She was just anxious to get home to her lover. Lucky guy."But I would love to see you at the store again someday. Uhm... perhaps inside and at a normal hour next time? Oh and thanks for the rescue... and the meal."

As if that was really the end. Roland smiled at her. " I do believe we still have a little bit of business. You have yet to show me the secrets behind your claims against little Junior. My curiosity cannot be sated and you cannot go home until I have been properly satisfied." The veiled threat lingered in the air where it was. He softened it slightly by handing her the gift basket." Oh, this belongs to you. I don't need it. Your alley or mine?"

Orlando smiled and reminded her of his curiosity. "I do believe we still have a little bit of business." She tilted her head. Really? They did? "You have yet to show me the secrets behind your claims against little Junior."[/i] Junior? Claims? Did she say something? "My curiosity cannot be sated and you cannot go home until I have been properly satisfied." Oh. She blinked at him for a long moment as she began to put two and two together. Ooooooooh. Her gift.

She smiled cheerily. He was being silly, but then again he didn't know that he couldn't hold her anywhere against her will. He handed her the basket almost as an after thought or an 'I'm sorry' of sorts. "Oh, this belongs to you. I don't need it. Your alley or mine?"[/i] She grabbed the basket and had a moment to juggle things around before she had another elegant shrug of the shoulders.

"Anywhere works. Lead on." She motioned to the nearest alleyway if he so desired. Well, it looked like she wasn't taking the bus home after all.

Vega seemed to recall what he was talking about and yet again slapped on her serene demeanor. Whatever her talent was, it was fairly formidable for her to feel so safe. In a way, it irked him. He wasn't the type to generally rely on intimidation. It was best used as a last resort of the first resort quality. There she was, just arranging the basket and her bag in her hands, shrugging the situation and Roland away as a minor contrivance. It was enough to make him want to test bullets on her.

She seemed to vaguely point out a nearby alleyway."Anywhere works. Lead on." As they stepped deep enough into the alleyway, there seemed to be enough moonlight to show her there. Roland's mind flashed over another meeting in an alleyway with her in the darkness, but he quickly returned to business. " So, tell me a little about yourself, if you would. I simply want to know what makes you feel so immune from me and any other threat."

True to his word he lead them into a dark alley. He must have thought her a fool to so readily following a strange and dangerous man into a place with limited access and limited visibility. A fool or a dangerous person. She didn't feel dangerous. Ghost considered her power mostly defensive and she had decent reflexes. There really wasn't a whole lot to fear unless Orlando did something really fast and unpredictable. Honestly, he'd been really nice and very calm. She probably didn't worry enough about Orlando.

"So, tell me a little about yourself, if you would. I simply want to know what makes you feel so immune from me and any other threat."[/color]

She turned to face him. Did he want a demonstration or did he really just want to talk? "You are very threatening." The way she said it was more like the reassurance of manhood after catching him trying on her lipstick. She wasn't trying to be demeaning in anyway, she was actually trying to reassure her mugger's mugger that he was still scary even if he didn't especially scare her. "and I'm not immune from anyone. Not all the time anyway."

She gave another elegant shrug to try and soften her words. It was probably a bad idea to tell anyone who asked, but she just didn't see the harm in it. Her mutation defined so much of who she was that she just couldn't afford to be ashamed of it. "I am classified as an air elemental. It's a very defensive and forgiving element, but I do still have the capacity to bleed. I just typically prefer not to." She readied herself mentally just in case he decided to test that theory.

"You are very threatening and I'm not immune from anyone. Not all the time anyway." It wasn't so much that Roland ever believed she was completely impervious, yet he was somehow relieved to hear her validate his suspicions aloud. She still carried the tome one might take with a boy who just lost a fight, explaining to him that he was still tough and he was loved nonetheless. Roland tried to think that far back, but it proved annoying and mythical by now.

"I am classified as an air elemental. It's a very defensive and forgiving element, but I do still have the capacity to bleed. I just typically prefer not to." Roland smiled a bit. So she was a mutant. It was really no surprise to him. He thought of Nehanda immediately, though, wondering if Vega might be one of her students. " An air elemental? Are you the type that helped Chinese Taoists ascend ?" He chuckled a bit before continuing." No, of course not. I suppose that makes you a mutant then. Have you ever been to Xavier's Sister School?" Elemental or not, she was already protected if she was a friend of Nehanda's. It was best for him to get the right impressions out right away for both of their sakes.

"An air elemental? Are you the type that helped Chinese Taoists ascend ?" [/color] Briefly Ghost had some mild confusion, but she did end with a smile. Orlando hadn't chosen to test her abilities or even demanded anything just yet. It was still polite conversation. "Chinese Taoists? I don't think so... no, but maybe an American..." She mused, though she didn't assume to have actually helped anyone ascend, Ghost did always try to inspire Garrett, the only Taoist she knew, to exceed his former choices and follow a higher path of balance, if not good.

"No, of course not. I suppose that makes you a mutant then. Have you ever been to Xavier's Sister School?"

"Well, of course I have!" Even bleached from all color as she was from the filter of moonlight that their small alleyway provided, Ghost's face lit up from the inside with the laughter of her words. "That is where I live. Though, I'll tell you it's a school for the gifted not for mutants." She paused thoughtfully. "Have you been there, Mister Orlando?" It seemed their excursion into the alleyway was providing nothing more than a private conversation after all. Ghost supposed that she could still make the last bus, but even that didn't really matter. She could take all of what she had home in her own way if needed.

Roland thought it both amusing and odd that she might have actually mingled with Taoists, as he was merely making a joke. She was an interesting girl, this Vega. She seemed to be quite amused herself at his question over the Mansion. She indeed lived there, which concluded his thoughts of whether or not to debrief Nehanda the next time he saw her on this. the dangerous game he and the Assistant Headmistress played had just gone up half a difficulty level, though finding out he hadn't killed someone would please her.

"That is where I live. Though, I'll tell you it's a school for the gifted not for mutants." Roland chewed on his lip for a moment as she then asked the million dollar question. " I have been there, yes. It's quite nice as is the countryside around it. A lovely place to live, I am sure. I thought we were getting along well, but I must admit I am rather vexed at why you would tell such a blatant lie about the school. You know very well that it is a school for mutants. I have no desire to hear the tourist jargon." Roland could feel his palm warming, as if something wanted to be in it. He decided then and there that the conversation move along and end as soon as possible.

"...I thought we were getting along well, but I must admit I am rather vexed at why you would tell such a blatant lie about the school. You know very well that it is a school for mutants. I have no desire to hear the tourist jargon."

"It was never my intention to deceive or vex you." She dipped her head in apology, her smile faltering around the edges. She rather liked it when people were happy... especially potentially dangerous people with potentially silenced guns. They had been speaking genially moments before. How had it gone sour so fast?

"It is more than mutants who live and attend the school, though we comprise the definite majority," She'd slipped into her usual verbal defense of stiff cadence and formality. "I'm sure if asked, the populace would prefer to think of themselves as learning to fully utilize their talents rather than the practical segregation of mutants who all found hope and help in the Sister School." She'd side-stepped the use of Xavier's name. It never rolled off of her tongue correctly, as if the amalgamation of accents she possessed always prevented her proper pronunciation of the name.

"Thus I spoke of gifts rather than the stigma of abnormalities and monstrosities that the word "mutant" typifies." Ghost sighed, all traces of smile lost for now. This was important to her. Hadn't she seen Orlando exercise his gift earlier? Things didn't just disappear like that. Was she somehow mistaken in her assumption that he too was one of the gifted? "It is not tourist jargon, it is an ideology that mutants... no, the gifted, should be able to coexist peacefully with sapiens. Emphasis on should. It's the very foundation of principle on which the school was built. How can we coexist if the very terminology used to classify us is derogatory?"

She was quite eloquent, especially when she was angered. He wasm ore pleased that she was no loger so serene and untouched. The speech was afine oen. A bit bland and not of the type he would sit and listen to for long, though. Not on purpose. It was time to close things and send little Vega home. FIrst, however, there was a good bit of washing to do.

Roland listened and then smiled. " That was an excellent speech. You really do have the school's ethos in mind. I am sure you make an excellent addition to their ranks. I apologize for my stern demeanor. It's been a long night. Allow me to explain myself properly. I do know of the school. I have been there before, yes. I am an agent of sorts for a foreign national. My superiors wished for me to retrieve the item you saw earlier, the small satchel, from a known terrorist earlier this evening. " He began to walk out of the alley toward the streets and relative safety.

" Thing is, our mugger friend from before and about 6 of his cronies jumped the man I was after and Junior took the satchel, the only item I was interested in. So I had to get it back. My anger seeped over which caused me to act as you had seen previous. I am sure you wonder why I tell you all of this? Well, because you will more than likely see me again at your school, as I have been seeing one of your teachers. Nehanda Jenkins. We have been keeping it to ourselves, so I'd ask if you could also do the same. most private schools are nests of gossip, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread it around." His smile of beneficience on, Roland waited to see if the bait took.

Orlando smiled and there was something patronizing and amused in his face that made Ghost sigh even before he spoke. He complimented her oratory skills and her cheeks flushed. She felt stupid standing there in a dark alley with handles in each hand lecturing a man possibly twice her age on social ideology. Especially since he'd been there.

"...I apologize for my stern demeanor. It's been a long night. Allow me to explain myself properly... I am an agent of sorts for a foreign national. My superiors wished for me to retrieve the item you saw earlier, the small satchel, from a known terrorist earlier this evening." He began to walk out of the alley toward the streets and relative safety.[/i]

Ghost blinked. Secret agent man? She had though the whole suit-under-the-groddy-mechanic's-outfit was kind of Bond. Maybe it was a gadget that made his stuff disappear. She hesitated and then followed him to the mouth of the alley. He had neither shown approval or disapproval on the actual subject matter of her little soap box rant, but he had instead opted to side step the content and compliment her speech in general. That had bothered her a little, but not everyone was so transparent about their social views. Ghost sighed again as he continued to explain. It was so neat and tidy. She wasn't sure if that meant it was true or not, but she found herself wanting to believe him.

"...you will more than likely see me again at your school, as I have been seeing one of your teachers. Nehanda Jenkins. We have been keeping it to ourselves, so I'd ask if you could also do the same..."[/color] Her mind was rather stuck on the words Nehanda Jenkins.

Neena?
Neena had a boyfriend?
Neena had a secret agent boyfriend?

Ghost believed his every word now. He'd given her a very reliable way to check his story. Neena wouldn't deceive her. And besides... Neena deserved someone. She deserved to get out and have some fun, though Ghost had seen this man's darker side. She'd also seen his generosity and politeness and even some kindness. There was potential in this man. Potential for good, for bad... perhaps Neena was a good thing for him. Orlando was smiling, apparently waiting for Ghost's judgment.

She bowed, a movement that originated from the hip and left her entirely vulnerable for the time that it took her to complete the movement. "Please take care of Neena." She caught his eyes with her own and they were almost ... sad. "You hold the heart of someone very dear to us all. I won't jeopardize what ever your job is or whatever you have with Neena, but..." She sighed again, "Please don't make me regret believing in you."

She paused in case he had wanted to say something more, but then turned with her parcels in hand and walked with her own kind of finesse, back the way they'd come, toward the bookstore. She'd have to retrace her steps to find the right bus stop. She didn't turn to speak, but the words came clear and bell-like back to Roland, brought on a gentle draft. "I look forward to meeting you again, Mister Orlando."