The driver was quiet and so was his idiot of a partner. The sirens surrounded them. Cosmina knew an end game when she saw it. However this was going to end it would end soon. Jimmy, as that was the driver's name, swerved to miss a vehicle and then spun a sob story about his wife dying. He claimed that the hospital had murdered her by taking her off of life support. Here Cosmina had thought he actually had a worthwhile cause and he was simply pining over his wife. How utterly foolish.

He'd gone and ruined his life over a dead wife. Whenever his wife came back she'd have to wait for him to get out of jail. The bus jerked to a halt as the man burst into tears. Oh for pity's sake he was pathetic! Cosmina's smile didn't fade though. Police men and women swarmed onto the bus. Jimmy and his young aid Gray Sweatshirt were hauled off. The shell shocked passengers were being extracted as well. Meanwhile Latino turned and smiled at her.

Latino had held up well during the whole thing. It was surprising for someone that she assumed had no experience beyond the training that had resulted in his competency in combat. She smiled back at him and nodded. With the police here she'd almost certainly be hauled off to a hospital sooner or later to have the bullet wound taken care of. It was good that Cosmina had all the necessary IDs and such for a false identity in her purse. Cosmina Anca Walker was just a girl who disappeared after her mother's brutal murder. With luck and some lying she could avoid suspicion from the cops altogether.

Of course this time she wasn't at fault at all. In fact she'd actually put her skills to work for free to save these people. Cosmina would have to find a high paying job to make up for this. She moved a few steps and sat down as police did their thing outside of the bus and inside.

"Indeed. It turned out alright though."

Cosmina regarded him.

"What's your name?"

She was curious now and thoroughly tired of calling him Latino.

Yes, thinking it about it, maybe Jimmy's reasons for what he'd been about to do were foolish, but then again that was probably what anyone would think when they'd spent their life shying away from commitment, not to mention love. Adrián had kept clear of any sort of emotional involvement with a lot of females that had been evidently turned on by him, and to be honest, there was never really a moment in time where he doubted the reasons why he didn't let his heart with any battles. He was a Mutant, an immigrant from Spain who could easily be deported back to his home country if any wrong person was to find out his... little secret.

Let's just say, Adrián wasn't sympathizing with this man who could have very much killed him, but more importantly all of these people who had merely gotten on the wrong bus at the right time. Maybe in the future he could think back on this day and understand just how love could make one do crazy things, but for now the Spanish man was left in the dark, watching as the criminals were taken by the NYPD; chances were, they'd be facing quite a sentence. Two shot, a dozen taken hostage... and then there was still the question as to what had happened to the actual driver of the bus. He could be lying dead in an alley for all Adrián knew.

He didn't have time to think about this any further however, as the Brunette woman asked him for a name. Adrián glanced at the police officers as they started helping passengers off the bus, comforting some, nodding to others as they were thanked. They were thanked? And what about Adrián and Brunette? They were both the ones who'd done most of the work and they were being, for the most part, ignored.

It was typical of New York citizens to be that way. They often couldn't care less about others' business. In a way, Adrián liked that. It meant he didn't have to constantly worry.

“Adrián Narváez.” was all he said; what else could he say, really? He didn't ask for hers, figuring that they would never see each other again after this. It was only a fluke that they had happened to be two brave souls stuck in a hijacked bus together – able to hold on when everything was going wrong.

With one last glance at the Brunette woman, they were both separated as she was given medical treatment by the paramedics that had arrived on scene and him? Well, he was in for some brutal questioning.

His book would just have to wait, safely tucked away on the nightstand behind his chilly bed in his equally chilly apartment.

THE END