((Attention Roland. It wouldn't all fit in the title. )

It had been a lovely day and an even lovelier evening. It was that time of year where no one knew whether to turn on the heat or the A/C as the temperature seemed to fluctuate daily. Instead, the shop owners seemed to come to the compromise of turning off everything and relying on the over all coolness of the days to be enough temperature regulation. Ghost didn't mind either way, though most employees seemed to respond to the door opening as it brought kisses of sweet cool night air. Tonight was going to be a good night, she could tell. Ghost had plans that included stopping at a certain Epicurean grocer for some end of the night deals before going home to celebrate the results of her mid terms. Perhaps even a bath was in order. Yep. It was going to be a good night.

Only two regulars, Big Joe and The Knitting Lady, had been around at closing time. They were respectful enough to leave when it was time without even needing to be asked. John Barker, the stock manager and Vega's store-closing partner, was locking up the front door and Vega was charged with the task of re-shelfing and trash tossing. Honestly, she felt she had the easier job since she didn't really know how to work the metal grate or the alarm system. Those things made her nervous.

Vega's only real responsibility was to take the collection of trash to the dumpster and lock the back entrance. All she knew about the alarm system was that she could take her time even after John set the alarm. Although, as soon as the deadbolt on the back door connected, the alarm was active. So she could only lock the door and not reopen it without setting off the alarm. From the dumpster it would only be a short walk through a long dark alley before she made her way out into the city. Piece of cake for a girl who could wisp away when she pleased.

Not that she was expecting trouble or ever did. The Full Circle Book Store was only a small, locally owned business. It wasn't even a chain and really it was hardly worth hitting up for cash, even if they did have some dusty special selections on the second floor. Deposits were in the morning when the owners came in so the employees leaving didn't even have a cash bag that they could steal. But of course there was always that slim chance that someone was stupid enough to try it...

Vega waved to John as he made his way out to the front of the store. She could hear the metal scraping as he pulled closed the grate. The trash was never very icky since it was taken out daily, honestly it was the dumpster that gave her pause. Vega piled the bags beside the back door as she pulled the door shut and fumbled in her ridiculously small girl pocket in search of the only key she owned.

Roland always enjoyed the night. Sure, jobs could be done as easily during the daylight hours, but they weren't as fun. The night embraced him and he always felt as if its inherent mystery blessed him in his efforts. He had been tailing a guy for most of the evening. It was definitely a mere courier and an amateur at best. Ever since things had gone awry thanks to Perry, Roland had waited until the right time to make a small stab back at him, if only to draw a bit of blood. Watching the scene unfold initially had been a pleasure, due to its essence of pure luck and opportunity.

He had watched Perry for a few days and had seen him give a small satchel to what seemed to be one of his regular bagmen. That courier would have been difficult to track and harder to capture. Fortunately, at the proper place and time, Roland had seen this gentleman take a beating from a group of local hoods. Judging by the youths' general demeanor, even hoods was stretching it. They were just lucky, finding something that was well out of their reach. Once the man was unconscious, they took to rifling through his pockets, the 'leader' keeping the satchel for himself. They parted ways and the head hood, as it were, did his novice best to make tracks.

The boy had stopped and made a phone call on his way through Central Park. Roland chose not to use any devices, preferring to hone his natural talents this night. Judging from the multiple hits the phone took from the receiver and the general cursing from the lad, he could only assume the call didn't go too well. There was ire in his stride now, making him much easier to deal with. Losing your nerve while working was the number one way to be caught, or robbed yourself. Wearing a gray jumpsuit akin to something a mechanic might wear, Roland continued to follow his prey from a reasonable distance.

His gloved fingers pressed gingerly at the bruised area around his slowly healing rib, a reminder of his run in with Nehanda. It was as good to him as lipstick on a collar. The foliage ceased as the Park gave way to another type of dark forest, the alleys of New York at night. The boy just continued his oblivious march onward, giving a kick of anger to a cat, as its angered yeowl echoed. Roland could only shake his head in disbelief at the lack of even general awareness of this thing that could only be called a thug.

Roland slowed his pace until he was enclosed by darkness in the alley. An icepick found his fingers and he twirled it about skillfully, the blood moving through his fingers in ready anticipation for the kill. The thug had stopped for some reason and had made his first attempt at being quiet, moving towards a stack of pallets and ducking behind it. Roland knew the sudden change wasn't over him, so he moved up a bit closer, staying close to the wall and breathing lightly through his nose. Seemed like Junior was looking for a party favor to lighten his mood, as a young and pretty white haired girl was standing outside the back entrance of a building, rummaging through her pockets, more than likely for keys.

A cat yowl interrupted her humming of Against All Odds prompting Ghost to look back toward the darkness. Poor kitty. Someone probably stepped on him or something. People were so mean stupid and sometimes. She sighed as she finally procured the key and slipped the multicolored lanyard between her teeth. She didn't want to get trash juice on her pants so she'd gotten out before she grabbed up the bags and made her way to the dumpster with renewed humming. She knew someone was there as soon as he'd stepped close enough. Unfortunately, she was struggling with the dumpster lid at the time, really it didn't matter, the trash was more important. She popped the bags into the dumpster, still seemingly oblivious, when she felt something hard and metallic press up against her spine.

"If you do exactly what I say, maybe I'll let you live."

Ghost blinked. "R-Really?" The key dropped from her lips and into the dirt. Her surprised soprano voice rang with an edge of ... enthusiasm? This was her first time getting robbed. It was kind of exciting actually and that excitement seemed to throw off her assailant. Obviously, he hadn't been expecting his victim to be happy about getting robbed. It rather ruined the mood, you know?

"Yeah really!" He seemed a little offended by her word and pressed the knife harder against her back before taking a small step back. Ghost raised her hands. It was a stick up after all, that's what people wanted you to do, right? "Pick up the key and turn around, we're going inside for the cash."

He was trying to sound gruff, but it was kind of cute. She was lucky to be grinning like an idiot toward the dumpster and not to her assailant's face. Ghost sighed a bit exaggeratedly as she bent at the waist and grabbed the key. She heard a small throaty noise come from the man that actually started to make her feel nervous. Perhaps play time was drawing to an end. "You don't have to do this you, know." She straightened and turned slowly to face him her hands still clearly visible. Her eyes were sad. "I just don't want you to get into more trouble than you can get out of. Is this all really worth it?" She was trying to help him, not threaten him and her tone suggested as much. She would give him every opportunity to change his mind. It didn't have to end badly tonight.

Roland watched the boy. Even his quarry was aware of him. Though it would be oblivious to someone like Junior, she clearly moved her eyes for a moment, ears perking. She got up on her toes to push the garbage in, daintily touching the lid of the dumpster as if too much contact might give her a disease. Of course, in New York, that was a distinct possibility. He watched the thug move as she turned, doing a cartoonish tippytoe behind her and then placing something against her back. He couldn't tell what it was or he would have taken his toy away then and there.

"If you do exactly what I say, maybe I'll let you live."Big words from such a little boy. The apparent enthusiasm in the girl's response made Roland genuinely smirk. Perhaps she was secretly a master martial artist or there was someone bigger and badder waiting for her down the alley farther. Roland lifted his chin but saw no one. Either way, she had only increased his anger. Good for Roland, possibly bad for the young girl. "Pick up the key and turn around, we're going inside for the cash."

When she bent over for the key, Junior made a noise of guttural desire. Not that Roland could totally blame him, even from his distance and angle, the view was definitely worth it. Still, there was some manner of respect that one had to carry before they should ever title themselves higher than thug or paperboy. While Roland could tolerate larceny and assault, rape was not something he would abide by. The girl seemed to also pick up on the intent behind the sound as she stood and turned slowly, key in hand.


"You don't have to do this you, know.I just don't want you to get into more trouble than you can get out of. Is this all really worth it?" It was noble for the supposed victim to take such a stance of favor for Junior. It was too bad for him that his fate was sealed the moment he walked into the alley. Roland felt it was his duty to give him some lessons to take with him to the great thug paradise that he would be sending Junior to shortly. The boy stood with knife in hand, neither seeing nor hearing Roland move up on him.

Roland placed the business end of the icepick against the base of Junior's neck while resting the other hand on his shoulder for both comfort and reiteration. " Drop that knife, if you would." The knife seemed to leap from the boy's hand into the darkness, clattering about as Roland reassured him of his conviction with some extra pressure. " First smart thing you have done all evening. How does it feel to be at the other end of the scenario?" Roland patted the boy's shoulder firmly with the free hand and squeezed his shoulder.

He turned to the girl and nodded his head to her in a friendly way, smiling. " Evening, Miss. Sorry to keep you from your duties. I just need to have a little chat with my new friend here. You are welcome to stay or go." He stepped away from the thug, relieving the point from his skull. " Now, before you run away, boy, I'd remind you that I also have a gun, complete with silencer. I am an excellent marksman, so it's best if you do as I say for the time being. Are we clear?" The cool aura of fear surrounded the lad as he nodded silently. Manners already. He was a fast learner. " If you'd be so kind to apologize to the young lady, we can begin our lessons."

She took two steps before her palm slapped noisily against her forehead. There was another someone stepping up close and personal.

"What?" The young man asked gruffly before it was he who was at the other end of something sharp. Ghost dropped her hands. Unbelievable. "Only in New York do the muggers get mugged." She grumbled to herself. She had felt that given time alone with the young man, she possibly could have gotten him to change his mind. Now, with another player it was too complicated for her to try and convince anyone of anything. She probably would have been relieved had the situation been different.

"Drop that knife, if you would." The knife seemed to leap from the boy's hand into the darkness. Ghost turned to get a good look at the two. She didn't want her mugger getting hurt. So where did this leave her if her mugger was really getting mugged?

Like a mind reader he turned to her wide and blinking eyes and answered her mental question... with a smile. "Evening, Miss. Sorry to keep you from your duties. I just need to have a little chat with my new friend here. You are welcome to stay or go." It was obvious from his words that her rescuer had saved her only as a side-effect of his true intention. One word popped into her mind. 'Creepy.' But the man pulled the sharp utensil away from her mugger's head and that made her visibly relax.

"Ehm, excuse me, sir... that's my mugger." She tried feebly to make some sense of the situation, but the second assailant was busy threatening her mugger with a gun that she didn't see, but didn't for one second doubt he had. The poor youth was scared and that was making her feel a little scared even though she was in no imminent danger.

"If you'd be so kind to apologize to the young lady, we can begin our lessons."

Ghost heard the young man swallow hard and she waved her free hand back and forth as if to clear the air. "Ehm... no harm done, right?" She turned her attention to the older man, he was ever so polite and that made him feel even more dangerous in her book... dangerous or perhaps civilized enough to see that this was all just a little silly. "So... Thank you and everything, but... I think maybe Mister Mugger has already learned his lesson for today?" She brought her shoulders up in a half-shrug as she looked the young man in the eye. He was all too happy to nod along with equally wide eyes.

She wanted to offer that they all grab some coffee or... something, anything to clear the threats of violence from the air. But maybe that was being a little too optimistic. For now she would settle for no bloodshed. "There's no need for threats here. It's just a misunderstanding, easily forgiven." She smiled nervously. Right? A small voice in the back of her mind was reminding her to lock the back door before they all left this alleyway.

Roland ignored the comment about the ownership of said mugger. While it might have been apparent to the young lady that she had been involved with the boy first, Roland had his eye on him for several hours. Stranger still is that this apparent victim would claim her assailant, revealing further that there was more to her than met the eye. Junior was beginning to stammer out his version of an apology when the young lady further intrigued Roland by waving it off as if it were merely a slight.

"So... Thank you and everything, but... I think maybe Mister Mugger has already learned his lesson for today?" Roland seemed to seriously consider the possibility of letting him go. He truly only wanted the satchel. The boy might actually go on to better things after someone had shown him where darkness really began. Roland steeled himself in his conviction. Live or die, Junior still needed a primer. " I appreciate your kind heart, Miss. It's rare to find such a thing in this world. However, I am afraid that Junior here must receive an education regardless of the outcome. In fact, the outcome will be solely based on his comprehension of the material." Roland rolled his neck and walked around the the boy's front, so he could bear the weight of his eyes upon him.

Watery orbs looked back at him. No longer was he Mister Tough, now he was Mister Baby. "First subject. I believe you have something that belongs to me. I'll have it now. This one is pass or fail." The boy kept his misty eyes planted firmly on Roland while he reached into his coat pocket and revealed the satchel, handing it to the man. Roland took it from him and put it into one of the side pockets of the jumpsuit."Very good. You're well on your way, son." Roland sized Junior up, assessing him carefully.

The young lady decided to intervene on Junior's behalf yet again. "There's no need for threats here. It's just a misunderstanding, easily forgiven." Roland wondered if this had become an open class with more than one student. He turned his attention to the young lady, knowing full well that Mister Baby wouldn't dare move a muscle. " You seem rather confident about all of this, dear. I must assume that either you are as naive as a baby or you yourself have some sort of defense which makes you feel so completely unattached from your previous predicament. Do you think that Junior here would have merely taken the cash once you two were locked up snug and tight inside? Surely you heard the noise he made when you bent over. I did. That wasn't the sound of pleasantries."

Roland spun on his heel toward the boy again." Why don't you illuminate us? You obviously wanted her as well as the cash. Is that not so?" The lad's eyes rolled around in his skull as if the irises weren't attached. Roland slipped his hand into a pocket and returned with the icepick, his eyebrows raised in wait for an answer."I-I don't know. She's pretty hot. She probably would have wanted it anyway. They ---" Roland had his hand raised for silence, which Junior readily accompanied with it. " They all want it. Isn't that right? I'm afraid I'll have to put that as a black mark on your record." He turned once more to the young lady." How do you feel about your mugger now, considering he could have been your rapist as well?"

For a brief moment, Ghost saw something in her mugger's mugger that could be ... indecision? But just as soon as she maybe saw that glimmer of hope, it was gone, replaced by cold hard steel. She scratched her head. Could she save them both somehow?

"I appreciate your kind heart, Miss. It's rare to find such a thing in this world. However, I am afraid that Junior here must receive an education regardless of the outcome. In fact, the outcome will be solely based on his comprehension of the material." The man rolled his neck and walked around to stare her mugger directly in the eye. As much as the man threatened her mugger, Ghost was secretly weighing the same options for him. There was still a chance that this could all end peacefully. No blood or harm done, lessons would be learned.

Ghost strained onto her tippy toes to catch her mugger's eye for the briefest of moments. She tried to put as much encouragement on her face as was possible. She was rooting for him. Because this all came down to his reactions. She noticed her mugger was tearing up as the older man started his 'lessons.' Ghost watched the parcel exchange hands. She just didn't know what else to say to help the situation, but she sure as heck wasn't leaving before knowing that they would all walk out of the back alleyway to live another day.

"You seem rather confident about all of this, dear... Do you think that Junior here would have merely taken the cash once you two were locked up snug and tight inside? Surely you heard the noise he made when you bent over. I did. That wasn't the sound of pleasantries."

Indeed, from her point of view she didn't have to be afraid of people's actions because they couldn't touch her without her consent... not that they knew that. Though the man clearly suspected foul play of some kind. Ghost folded her arms. She was not enjoying the show at all as the older mugger set about extracting a confession of sorts before returning his gaze to hers.

"How do you feel about your mugger now, considering he could have been your rapist as well?"

She tried to keep her voice warm and kind more than nervous. If the man acted suddenly, she wasn't sure what she could do to help her mugger. "He might not have known it at the time, but he wasn't going to harm me... he wasn't even going to walk away with anything of the store's either. I'm sure he would have even come to that conclusion on his own merit." Her eyes found her young mugger's frightened orbs and she attempted another half shrug and smile even if it did come out a bit watery. She believed in him. Ghost turned her attention back to the older man. He'd changed the equation before she could help this youth help himself. "He hadn't acted on anything yet. There's still hope for him."

Now the real question... was there still hope for the man? Ghost had seen it earlier hadn't she?

Roland's tolerance for the midnight angel was reaching its peak. Too many people could wander by and notice the drama unfolding. He had the satchel. He would allow the girl a small victory. For a price."He might not have known it at the time, but he wasn't going to harm me... he wasn't even going to walk away with anything of the store's either. I'm sure he would have even come to that conclusion on his own merit.He hadn't acted on anything yet. There's still hope for him." Roland put the icepick back in his pocket. He looked over at Junior, whose eyes were flashing between the two who were deciding his fate. " It appears your guardian Angel has saved you, boy. If I see your face again, I won't. Shoo."

Junior didn't need telling twice, mouthing the words 'Thank you' to his savior and beating feet. Roland thought of the Olympics and the many fine track and field athletes when he saw the boy run for his life, literally. Roland then turned to the girl, relaxing his posture. " So, now it is you and I. I congratulate you in your efforts to save the boy. I was really only after what he had stolen from me. Perhaps we can chat a bit now that he is gone. I am quite interested in you, myself.. Though, not for the reasons he was. "

He moved all of the items in the jumpsuit to his suit beneath while pacing and speaking, via mutation. "I am most interested in your previous claims. You said that not only was the boy not going to harm you, but he wouldn't be walking away with anything that belonged to the store. That's quite a claim from a pretty little thing like yourself. I was wondering if you could clarify your statement for me." He was fairly sure that the condescension in his voice would be enough to put the girl on edge, possibly pushing her to indeed show him her talents, whatever they might be.

He stopped mid pace and pointed toward the door of the store." Did you want to go ahead and lock that? I assure you there's nothing of interest in there for me." He smiled and waited patiently. He was not going to be leaving her company for some time. At the moment, the boy was surely free, yet she was not. She had bartered with his life. With her own.

"It appears your guardian Angel has saved you, boy. If I see your face again, I won't. Shoo."[/color]

She tilted her head. Guardian Angel? That hadn't been her intent exactly, but she supposed it fit in a way. She waved after her mugger as he ran. "Don't forget, you still have a chance!" He had even mouthed a 'thank you' to her. What a nice kid. She hoped that he wouldn't forget this night and that hopefully it would be a life changing experience. Ghost smiled in earnest now. So there was hope for Mister polite-and-scary after all.

With the situation some what diffused, even Ghost was starting to relax. "So, now it is you and I. I congratulate you in your efforts to save the boy. I was really only after what he had stolen from me. Perhaps we can chat a bit now that he is gone. I am quite interested in you, myself.. Though, not for the reasons he was."[/color]

"I'm just glad no one got hurt. I am sorry for any inconvenience he caused you, but you do now have your... item." She shrugged at his interest. Was he trying to reassure her? She didn't really trust him, but she did trust her ability that kept her out of harm's way. "Chat all you like." She was feeling positively chipper now. She'd side stepped a mugging, a mugger's mugging, and no one even got hurt. It was still a good day. Ghost made her way back to the dumpster and tossed in the last bag of garbage in and then daintily recovered the mouth of the bin while her mugger's mugger began to pace.

"I am most interested in your previous claims. You said that not only was the boy not going to harm you, but he wouldn't be walking away with anything that belonged to the store. That's quite a claim from a pretty little thing like yourself. I was wondering if you could clarify your statement for me."[/color] He sounded a little.. bitter? Maybe he was a mutant hater. Ghost sighed and wiped her hands off on her store apron.

"The statement seems pretty clear to me, Mister, except that you don't know the exact how of it all. So you want the magician to give up all her secrets? Magicians never tell." Ghost teased pleasantly. He reminded her about the as of yet unlocked back door and she thanked him before securing the deadbolt and popping the key back into her pocket as she talked. "O~kay. I was kidding." She admitted cheerily. "I'm no magician. But I'm sure he would have seen the error if his ways given time and presented with the facts. What a silly way to ruin a life. I don't even think this store turns out a whole lot of profit. Would you believe this is my first time to be mugged? " She untied her apron and folded it expertly to fit into her back pocket. Boy, she was feeling chatty, but all that nervous energy had to go somewhere.

"You can call me Vega if you like. I kinda understand if you don't want to give me a name, but could I have something to call you besides my mugger's mugger?" She ran through her mental checklist, touching pockets to make certain they contained the contents she needed. She had her ID, bus pass, some cash she was planning to use at the grocer's, her key, her apron... yeah. Looks like she was ready to go. "Would you like to talk somewhere else or is the whole lurking in dark alleyways your cup of tea?"

The girl seemed all too pleased that Roland had decided to let the boy go. Roland felt alright about it himself. He couldn't very well learn a lesson and then die. No way to prove his comprehension. Either way, he was sure he wouldn't see that boy's face again. She wa no seemingly open to speaking with him, though not on her hidden ability, whatever it may be. It still made him curious, though. Curious enough to entertain the idea of walking her home. Or somewhere.

She locked the store up and relaxed herself further, showing more of herself and perhaps less of her image that she had shown previously. They both had secrets, which always made for interesting companionship."You can call me Vega if you like. I kinda understand if you don't want to give me a name, but could I have something to call you besides my mugger's mugger?" Roland sucked his teeth for a moment in thought. He decided to keep it simple and closer to the truth, for his own amusement. " Fair enough. I don't really care for being called a mugger as well. I don't think I 've been something that low since I was younger than you. Heh. Call me Orlando."

"Would you like to talk somewhere else or is the whole lurking in dark alleyways your cup of tea?" Roland snickered before speaking. Someone was very lucky to have this little girl's heart, full of spunk and bravery. " That sounds lovely. Excuse me for a moment?" He walked into the shadows, opening the satchel to find a small zip drive inside. It went into his inner belt. The jumpsuit and gloves then came off in a poof and found themselves on a nearby fire escape. Returning from the darkness he was now in a tailored suit, grey with a black shirt underneath. No tie. " Where shall we go now, Vega?"

"I don't really care for being called a mugger as well... Call me Orlando."[/color]

"Like that famous guy or the city," she mused to herself. Was it telling of who he was? Only time would tell. Ghost would like to pretend that was indeed his real name. "Well, I suppose it's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Orlando." She nodded. He'd been polite and relatively kind. That was really all you could ask of people these days, wasn't it? He'd only been looking out for the youth's interests when he'd taught him a lesson, though she would have gone about it in a different way.

Orlando seemed to think her lurking in dark alley way comment was funny and then he went and decided to step back into the shadows of the night again after a quick, "Excuse me for a moment?"[/color] She was definitely curious as to what prompted his wandering off into the shadow and luckily he hadn't gone too far. Vega blinked curiously at the darkness as some very interesting things began happening.

It felt like magic, ironically enough. Solid things simply disappeared, whether they reappeared elsewhere out of her range of perception or if they just vanished was still up for debate. She found herself grinning. Good thing she wasn't always solid. And she now felt that it was safe to assume that he wasn't a mutant hater. He was, in fact, one of the gifted many of New York. That also made some things make sense in a way. Mutants did generally feel a bit safer roaming in darker places no matter the hour.

Vega's eyebrows did raise across the plain of her forehead when Orlando returned wearing a suit. Sure, she'd perceived the disappearance of his outer garb, but she hadn't pressed in for the details, and she certainly hadn't been expecting diamonds to be under all that coal. "Uah! Now I'm under dressed." Her uah was decidedly the exclamation of a foreign language speaker. Japanese school girl noises do not depart so suddenly from one's vocabulary. Ghost looked down at her dark jeans and her tucked in, button up shirt. Well, it could have been worse. She shrugged.

"Where shall we go now, Vega?"

That did give her slight pause. Where should she take this suited and polite, but possibly dangerous man? Well, she had intended to hit up the Epicurean grocer. She checked her wrist which hadn't ever consistently exhibited the time due to lack of watch, and tried to imagine that their little non-mugging hadn't taken too long. "If it's not too late there is a fancy grocery store I would like to visit. They should have ready-made items and teas and coffees as well. I'm hoping for a deal on dinner since it may be close to closing time." She scratched her head and took a tentative step toward the mouth of the alley. "Is that okay or do you have something else in mind?"

Returning from the shadows, Roland was pleased to find the girl shocked at his under wear. The sound from her lips sounded foreign. Due to her polite mannerisms and the noise , he had the feeling that though she was Caucasian, there was definitely either some Asian descent or some education from those sorts of areas. He filed it away as she seemed to feel under dressed. " You look fine, Vega. You did just happen to leave work. You had no idea that you were going anywhere nor anywhere with me."

At the question of their destination, Roland watched as she looked at a wristwatch that wasn't there. Her previous front of cool confidence had been rippled. "If it's not too late there is a fancy grocery store I would like to visit. They should have ready-made items and teas and coffees as well. I'm hoping for a deal on dinner since it may be close to closing time." He watched her begin to walk out of the alley and followed. " Sounds lovely. I always enjoy organic food, especially of the gourmet variety. Are you preparing for dinner? All this threatening has indeed given me an appetite."

He could at least ensure she got home safely. Had he not had something for Nehanda, he would have probably suggested even more possibilities. She was easy on the eyes, to be sure. Roland had seen hundreds of beautiful women and stunning bodies, but he really felt that he should have come over the pond to New York much sooner. He stepped out into the sidewalk with her and waited for her direction as to their destination. The night was cool and by New York standards, was quite early.

"You look fine, Vega. You did just happen to leave work. You had no idea that you were going anywhere nor anywhere with me."[/color]

Orland, her mugger's mugger, was comforting her. She just couldn't help but chuckle. People could be mean... and then they could show surprising kindness at times. "Are you always so dapper?"

She nodded at his question about dinner. "I actually wasn't going for ingredients so much. I'm too hungry to wait for it all to cook." She shrugged. It was also partly in celebration of her grades, but she wasn't one to brag. "I wanted to capitalize on the Bakery part."

"All this threatening has indeed given me an appetite."[/color]

She blinked and then burst out laughing again. "I wouldn't know about that, but I guess it does sound hunger inspiring?" She shrugged and danced ahead a few paces, tempted to loose her shoes despite the cool night air. She noticed most people were starting to wear long sleeves even though she was still in short sleeves. Ah well. She'd feel it when it actually got cold, but really wearing long sleeves just meant less breathable clothing. Silly normal people and their temperature sensitivities.

"I actually heard about this place because there was a fire nearby." She mentioned cheerfully as she lead the way. It was only a few blocks if one knew where they were headed and Vega had studied for just this occasion. She was hopeless at directions otherwise.

It wasn't long before they were approaching one of the few still lit store fronts. "Welcome to EatZi's Market and Bakery." She motioned to the checkered sign before kicking up her feet excitedly and making her way inside. It was everything she'd hoped it would be, the Take-Out menu they'd left at the store hadn't been wrong. It was a "european-style market," whatever that meant. "Beyond supplying hard-to-find products, EatZi's has a highly trained staff that is knowledgeable about all things epicurean. That's what the take out menu said anyway." She nodded to Orlando and breezed through the isles toward the central display windows. It was set up like a circular deli except that it had much more than just potential lunch meat.

After circling the pre-made foods and inquiring about specials Vega settled on two servings of tabouli, one serving of greek-style chicken salad, two tomato-basil naan-like breads and a nice large portion of grapes. It would be perfect to bring home the left over portion to Garrett. Even if he'd already eaten dinner, she could always pack it up as a lunch for later. Vega found herself humming and perusing the glass bottled drinks as the man behind the counter wrapped her purchases in plastic containers and brown paper.

Roland followed the young lady as she spoke of their destination. It was always a good idea to know about these sorts of places. He might even grab a few items for a dinner with Nehanda the next time he saw her. He toyed with the idea of having a picnic, blanket and all, on the Mansion lawn. The mutant children could come and go, but no one needed to know his intentions. The ones he had for Nehanda were pure enough. No less soiled than any other man's would be in the sight of a beautiful and skilled woman. Roland found himself drifting away from her ramblings, the white eyes of the woman he desired burning into the back of his mind.

They had stopped in front of a place called EatZi's. The girl was speaking again, so he listened for a change."Beyond supplying hard-to-find products, EatZi's has a highly trained staff that is knowledgeable about all things epicurean. That's what the take out menu said anyway." Roland smiled and watched as she buzzed around the place, snapping up various ingredients for what seemed to be a lovely dinner for someone. As she was looking at some drinks and had actually stopped moving for a moment, Roland stood close to her. " That seems to be more than enough for one. Who is going to be your dinner guest?" He had more than an inkling of doubt that it was him, but he was intrigued all the same. What kind of man caught this lovely young lady's eye?

He looked over the fine wares of the deli. He imagined multiple combinations of food and drink, all with the same woman looking across the table from him. Not in at least a decade had Roland found himself so enraptured over a woman. Many had taken his eye in his lifetime. Some had even taken his heart. But very , very few had just completely had him at a loss as he had found himself of late.

It was an interesting glass bottle boasting what looked like oranges except that the innards of the picture on the label were not orange, but instead a very disturbing color of red. Ghost rotated the bottle in her hands as she hummed her tune and tried to read the back label. But that print was tiny, man! Ghost was having trouble deciphering the actual ingredients. It would have helped if the label were in English... or Japanese, but usually she could figure some things out for herself. She'd been so caught up in her less-than-accurate interpretations that she didn't even notice Mister Orlando approach.

"That seems to be more than enough for one. Who is going to be your dinner guest?"[/color]

She fumbled a moment with the glass entombed liquid before finally catching a solid purchase and hastily settling it back on the shelf next to its brothers. Her cheeks were pink. "I-I'm sorry. Would you like me to get something for you too?" She straightened the glass bottles, noticing that the one she'd nearly dropped was bubbling slightly. Ah. She definitely didn't want to try it now.

"I just wanted to share a meal with my friend back at the Mansion... OR it could be lunch for tomorrow." The last words tumbled out of her mouth all too readily. Yes. Lunch tomorrow. It was the perfect lie. He would never know.

Ghost peered over her shoulder at the man behind the counter. He was packing her things into a large paper bag with handles and seemed to be ready for payment. Ghost pulled out several crumpled bills from her jeans pocket after looking at Roland one more time. "Sure you don't want anything?" If the answer was no she'd exchange the bills and be done.