OOC: This is following mine and Nika's posts in the birthday thread.

The engine warmed, Roland began maneuvering across the field in the direction of his estate. He took his time, carefully and gingerly, considering the precious data he was carrying. He was lost in monetary computations, considering the bonus money and its utilization in his house. It would more than likely update the bungalow, purchase some horses and gear for the stables and hire some caretaker types. It was important to have appearances covered.

Inside, there was much to be done. He had installed several items in the bowels of the estate, secretly hoping that someone would field test them. Almost as if the cosmos was listening, Roland checked the little rear view mirror over the accelerator. There was a small figure hunched down on the wall, watching him as he drove off. He made no change in the speed of the vehicle, preferring to maintain the illusion that the creature was still unnoticed. He used 'creature' because while it seemed to be humanoid, it had a tail.

Roland looked down at the gauges on the console before him, spotting his trusty silenced pistol, which now rested there before him. His body blocked the view of it, so should the creature begin to stalk, he could squeeze some diplomacy out, bullet by bullet.

Nika kept off the roadway and darted between trees, bushes and anything else that could conceal her. The man kept a steady pace as he rode off. Who was this guy and why was he at the mansion? Was he with the Order? Maybe not. He didn't get into the fight. The thoughts ran through Nika's head as she stalked the man. He wasn't going too fast so she could easily keep pace behind him. Although that depends how far he was going.

It kept an excellent pace. He watched it from his peripheral in the mirror as it would flash in its reflection. It moved through the cover quickly, though it lacked a primer in proper stalking. Roland would prefer to let a mark get just of sight. All the ducking and covering done by the beast behind him only pointed out further that it and he were the only two out in the fields and forests, under the light of the moon. He had been following the dirt track through the neighboring land, but now that he had crossed onto his own acreage, he veered off the track and headed into the brush.

This move would hopefully accomplish two things. One, it would definitely mark the creature as stalking him. Two, he was getting to know the ins and outs of his land. Every ditch, every sinkhole, every tree had to be committed to memory. One could never tell when a small and seemingly unimportant detail could be capitalized on. He increased the throttle once he was in the brush. The cases were secure enough and making his stalker move made it all the more enjoyable.

Following the man wasn't at all a challenge, but then maybe he didn't even know she was after him. He just kept going on his way to wherever his destination was. At least it wasn't a challenge. That is until the guy drove off the main path and headed into the foliage.

She could hear the pitches in the engine every time it slowed or quickened. She could continue to track the man even without directly following him. Nika leapt up into the trees to keep out of the usual eye level view should the man turn his head or look in his mirror.

The lights of his home burned in the darkness of the treeline. He broke free from the woods and found himself pulling up behind the house. It was a rather large manor, perhaps a fourth of the size of the Mansion. He was the only resident, however. No kids to feed or noses to wipe. He turned the engine off, the key disappearing from the ignition to his person, the cases stacking themselves by a set of stairs that went beneath the ground level.

Opening the door to this part of the basement, Roland swung the door open wide, turning the lights on. This part of the lower level had a worktable and several tools lining the walls. Some would be seen as tools by anyone, some tools to professionals. Guns hung next to slide rules, computer banks lined one wall as well. Two mannequins behind glass stood silently, surveying the scene. One was clad in Roland's stealth suit. After a moment, the second was wearing the suit he had just worn at the party.

Roland poured himself a coffee and sat at the table, opening the first case and securing the .50 cal, reassembling it as the other case found it self open and wires were connecting to the computer banks, in preparation to upload the footage for transfer to the company. He left the door open, inviting his new friend to enter. He kept an eye on the floor just at the entrance to the room. The device in the floor could only be spotted by the five circular spots in a line on four opposite sides of the space there at the bottom of the stairs. Entering, he had released its safety switch, leaving it to be activated by pressure. It was excellent coffee.

Soon a structure started to come into view as Nika continued to track the mysterious man. It was a rather large house as she got closer to it. She perched on a rather large branch yet she was covered by the many smaller branches and their leaves. As she sat there she watched as the man made his way around the back of the house. The engine of his vehicle turned off and now there was silence save for the occassional breeze rustling the leaves.

After a few moments of not seeing the man coming around the front of the house Nika jumped down to the ground and quietly made her way up to the house. She couldn't see into to windows so perhaps a look around back was called for. After all that's where the man had gone anyway.

Staying close to the house but below the windows Nika made her way around to the back. She didn't see the man but the vehicle was there. Then she noticed an open door leading down into what she could only imagine as a cellar. Flashbacks of her childhood flooded her mind. Quickly she shook the memories out of her head as she peered down the stairs. Light and the smell of coffee met her senses. Might as well go see what's going on she thought and headed quietly down the stairs.

(Modding permission given by Nika)

The coffee was Jamaican. It left a wonderful aftertaste. Roland watched as the curiosity got the better of the cat. She was as careful and cautious could be in such a narrow and unforgiving entrance. Roland looked over the steam of his coffee at the small circles in the floor. There were five in a line, four on each side. Holes on the ceiling lined up to the circles. His eyebrows raised slightly as she came into view. She was a lovely creature. Perhaps it was her feral quality that made her so wild and untamed. Some time in the box would help her.

She apparently was going to do some sort of leap. He could only guess at what her intentions were initially. The end result was that as soon as her feet hit the floor, the pressure plate responded. Twenty steel bars sprung from the floor and met their female counterparts in the ceiling, turning and locking in place. The cat girl was now secured. Roland put his coffee down on its saucer. She looked both surprised and immediately angered. For his own security, Roland moved the steel shutter where the wooden outside door was down, keeping the room silent from the outside, should she have another with her.

" I see you chose to visit. It's rare that I get visitors. Especially ones that are so lovely." Roland smiled at her, though she clearly wasn't feeling civil. He stepped over to the wall and pulled down a Glock. It was loaded and cocked shortly after. He turned and kept the gun on the girl. Being a mutant from the Mansion meant she probably had some tricks of her own. The bars were solid steel and were four inches thick, but perhaps she could break them anyway. He kept the gun trained on her little cat head to discourage such rebellion.

No sooner had Nika stepped on the floor then multiple bars shot up from the floor and inserted themselves into the ceiling. She was instantly caged. She saw the man who didn't appear shocked at all. Immediatley she started pulling and kicking at the metal bars. She was strong naturally, but her extra power hadn't kicked in so she wasn't able to force the bars to let her go.

Nika watched the man get up and walk to a wall and grab a gun. The whole time she continued to try to get away but to no avail. The man walked over towards the cage. He was older than she was but from what she could tell he kept himself in shape. That didn't matter too much as she figured she could take him as she was probably faster and stronger. When he pointed the weapon at Nika the cat girl ceased her efforts with the bars.

"I followed you from the mansion. I wanted to know why you were there. You had weapons so I thought you were there to hurt my friends."

At once, the feral cat girl cooled down into a docile kitten at the sight of the firearm. Roland was pleased to see she could practice restraint in light of changing circumstances. However, he was no less irritated at her pursuit."I followed you from the mansion. I wanted to know why you were there. You had weapons so I thought you were there to hurt my friends.[/i]"

He wondered if it was her acute senses or what it was exactly that had pulled her away from the carnage that had preceded his departure. The two sides of mutants were fighting so hard it seemed they had some sort of tunnel vision that left them open. Had he wished to fire into the crowd, he doubted anyone would have noticed until they were bleeding. He lowered the pistol since she seemed to be easier to manage with its presence. He placed it on the table beside him to give the illusion of vulnerability, one of his favorite tricks.

" It was noble of you, I suppose, to wish for the safety and well-being of your friends. However, while I did indeed have a weapon, it was for my own protection. Many of those on the battlefield were quite powerful and simple firearms would have been laughed at. I don't recall firing a shot though. So, that leaves me to wonder why you would come the distance between here and there and then actually invite yourself in to my home? Take your time replying, we have all the time in the world." Roland looked into the corner of the room at a folded metal chair and then back to the impromptu cage, where it was now unfolded behind her.

Watching the man carefully Nika observed him as he placed the hand gun down. It was still well within reach, but at least it wasn't pointed at her. She listened to him give assurance that he never fired a shot while camped out on the edge of the mansion grounds. That made Nika feel a little better, but that still didn't answer her question. Now he was asking why she had followed him back to his domain.

"I already told you why I followed you, but you haven't answered my question. Why were you there in the first place?"

Then something strange happened. There was suddenly a chair in her cage. Where did that come from? She knew it wasn't there just a few seconds ago. Nika's eyes narrowed as if she was trying to see the man more clearly.

"Are you a mutant?"

"I already told you why I followed you, but you haven't answered my question. Why were you there in the first place?[/i]" She was feisty, indeed. A predisposition for petulance as well, no doubt. " You are not really in much of a position to be demanding answers or anything else, dear. What I was doing there is my business and my business alone. It seems odd to me that you would be so concerned as to my presence and yet ignore those who were maiming and injuring your friends and colleagues. Perhaps it is you that has their priorites out of line. That can be fixed, just like anything else. Please sit in the chair provided."

Roland chose to ignore the question as he made an inquiry via coded text to Ingram at the Labs. He needed a collar to keep this wild animal from breaking free. He also needed a remote to control it from a longer distance. He made the request and specifications as if it might be a primate, as opposed to whatever this girl was classified as. He decided ignoring her would possibly bring out some of the feral qualities she was keeping at bay. Besides, what was he to do with her? Just letting her go seemed to be implausible at this time. Finsihing the textting, he left the room she was in and entered the rest of the basement, looking for suitable longer term quarters for her.

((OOC: I'm so terribly sorry for my absence.))

As expected the man wasn't giving up much information. He continued his position of trying to assert control over the whole situation. The steel bars and him telling her to sit in the chair weren't helping her mood. From what she could tell; he was going to keep her trapped while he continued to dig into her mind with his questions. Nika didn't like the thought of that one bit so she remained standing and kicked over the chair.

Noting the man's attention had been diverted Nika tried to get a better look around. She tried to see if the section of ceiling above her was reinforced. There didn't look to be any hints of some sort of extra plating or anything. Perhaps that was the weak part of this little cage. That might be her only way out. If she were to try to bend the bars it would give the man more than enough time to retrieve his gun and aim at or possibly shoot her. So for now she remained standing in the center of the cage and didn't say a word.