The cold wind tickled his nose thanks to the long blond hair momentarilly obstructed his view due to the gryphon shifter shifting his wings as he changed his heading. The blonde in his arms had been there before but he never knew if the flight they had was this long before. He flew Katrina further before but other than her Carrick couldn’t really think of a time when he flew with someone as far as he was with Liz in his human form before. Closing his eyes and lowering in the air Carrick muffled a complaint while his wings flapped just a bit harder pushing himself and by extension Liz higher into the air making them clear a building that was coming up exceptionally close.

“Don’t tell ‘em I told you this but he really is brilliant, only piggy I think I’ve ever truly liked.” Carrick said as the familiar building he had come across so many times came closer into view. Of course Carrick didn’t notify Jorge that he was stopping by but he never did anyways and seeing as Jorge never really fixed the window (or if he had Carrick ended up breaking again) Carrick took it as an open invitation to stop in when ever he wanted. On occasion he called ahead or shot Jorge a text (from the new phone that his da sent him for his birthday) to let him know that he’d be stopping by but that was more to make sure there was food in the fridge.

Shifting his hand on the back of the girl he kind of sort of maybe had feelings for he attempted not to make a big deal out of it but his fingers attempted to plant themselves in her back just to make sure she wouldn’t be in any danger of falling seeing as he was slightly distracted with the cold.

Wishing he brought his goggles with him his multicolored eyes shifted around from one building to the next eying the snow that had formed over the past few days. It was New York so for the most part the streets were cleared but the buildings and the parks were covered in a blanket of white. Looking up into the air Carrick wondered if it was going to start snowing again. Knowing he could have brought Liz to see Jorge on a warmer day he shrugged his shoulders figuring today was good as any seeing as there wasn’t really anything going on at the mansion.

“That’s his place right in front of us!” Carrick said as he raised himself up so he could get close enough for the window for Liz to enter before he climbed in himself, “I tell you he had a dog?” Carrick asked as they got closer and closer glad Liz couldn’t feel his emotions otherwise she’d be overwhelmed with excitement.

Yes, it was cold. It had already been a cold day, but being up in the slightly thinner smog-filled sky increased the temperature quite a bit. But Elizabeth had dressed for the occasion. She was wearing a pink and grey coat over top a burgundy sweater. A maroon scarf with purple rhombus patterns encircled her neck. Fleece-lined leather gloves adorned her hands. Heavy boots covered her feet. But she had forgotten a hat and her coat did not have a hood attached. Which meant her ears were getting pretty cold and her unbound hair was flying all over the place. “Sorry,” she said for the fiftieth time (she had kept count) as her hair decided to cover Carrick’s face.

The empath was snuggled right up against Carrick, being held aloft by a hand on her back and an arm under the backs of her knees, her own arms around his neck. It was quite comfortable, actually, despite the stinging wind or the chance that she might accidentally fall to a tragic and bloody death at any moment if Carrick so much as slipped. She wasn’t worried too much about that. Her male friend with whom she had a very close relationship with was pretty strong and she’d flown with him before without any problems. Besides, how could someone be frightened when they had such an incredible view of the city?

And due to the close proximity of Carrick’s face to hers, she quite clearly heard him talk. “Oh, I would never dream of such a thing,” she assured him, artistically emphasizing her words to achieve a more dramatic effect. She had no reason to tell this Jorge person any such thing. She also knew how much Carrick preferred to keep his pride, just like any other guy. A slight smirk crossed her lips but vanished before it could be noticed. Men and their egos. She mentally rolled her eyes at it. And while she was at it, she mentally rolled around on a random floor laughing.

Liz unconsciously snuggled in closer to Carrick as his hands secured a former grip on her. Anything to be accommodating and to keep her safe. A near dreamy smile glistened on her lips as she settled, thinking about the whole situation.

It wasn’t long before Carrick spotted their destination and began bringing them in, tossing out some last minute trivia while he was at it. “No, you didn’t happen to mention a dog,” she said after a second’s pause. In fact, Carrick hadn’t mentioned too much about this Jorge person. Just that he was a cop, really. But ‘Rick had wanted Liz to meet him so there she was.

There she was, awkwardly climbing out of Carrick’s embrace arms and entering a police officer’s house via a window she was simultaneously opening. “Are you sure this is okay?” she asked the winged lad, a touch of doubt and worry in her voice. This could turn out bad in so many way if they were caught. “I mean, why didn’t we come in through the front door?” Once inside, Beth stood out of the way so Carrick could enter, nervously looking around and trying to ignore the nagging feeling that they were going to be arrested for breaking and entering.

Jorge was asleep.

That really all there is to say. The cop, tired after a long weekend which ended with him over using his powers, sat slumped in his living room chair, a book of Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” lying open upon his chest. The man was still recuperating from the incident at the inn where he had to summon more water than he was used to in order to uproot a malevolent apple tree. It was grueling and his head throbbed but he was able to do it…at the expense of making himself slip into a coma for twenty-four hours.

So now, his first day back in New York, and he was still trying to get his body to recuperate after the incident. He still found himself experiencing moments of tiredness and thirst, but the attacks were slowly beginning to get less and less serious. The doctor had told him to take care of himself so that is what the man would have to do…which explains why he was fast asleep on his chair.

He did not snore, but instead looked quiet peaceful, lying back against his chair with the book open and his white English bulldog sleeping soundly at his feet. The stubble still looked rough on his cheeks and chin as he slept gently in his warm apartment, his mind lost to the blackness of dreamland. He looked a little worn still, his face a little shallow and his circles under his eyes dark with weariness. Though he was drinking plenty of water, he was still slightly dehydrated so his skin has a pale-like look to them. And on top of all that, several empty plastic bottles of water sat on the table next to him, their contents gone and being absorbed into his worn out body. Yet still, he looked at peace, earning a great rest…but would not get to enjoy this peace for long.

Lizzie looked up the second she heard the window being tampered with. She knew her master was not entirely well yet and while she could not keep him from leaving the house, she was damn sure going to keep danger from walking in. She eyed the window, watching it open before she finally moved onto his stubby legs and scampered over. Tongue panting, she watched a pair of figures make ready to climb in. One of them was a scent the bulldog obviously recognized, the other was a complete stranger…

No strangers…! her thoughts fired as she began to bark and scamper to and fro.

The noise started to make Jorge stir as he Lizzie’s barking pierced the warm blanket of his dark encompassed mind. His limbs twitched as he turned in his seat, trying to whisper to keep Lizzie quiet. He really just wanted to rest after the madness of this past weekend, especially since he had work later and he needed to at least be rested. But his attempts obviously failed though as the dog kept barking which left him the only choice he had left, to wake up, be annoyed that she woke him up, then go back to sleep.

“Lizzie, what do you want?” he asked as he groaned and started to awaken. “What’s wrong girl?”

With a yawn the man blinked his weary eyes as he stood up from his chair and looked about for Lizzie. It was then that he noticed someone whom he had never seen before, standing in his apartment, having apparently come in through the window. He rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes and immediately woke up as he looked at the girl curiously. She could not have been more than a teenager…so why was she in his apartment.

“Hello,” was all he could say as he looked at her carefully, unsure if he would need to use his powers or just try to kick her out. Then he saw the fluttered of wings outside the window, narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low, growly voice, “Carry, I’m really not in the mood for you to raid my fridge today.”

”Yeah this is fine!” Carrick assured Liz as he helped her into Jorge’s apartment, she made it seem like this was something he did everyday, well he was over at Jorge’s a lot but he only let himself in to people’s places he knew. That wasn’t many to begin with but that was why Carrick liked Jorge so much his place was one of the few he’d invite himself in.

It took the shifter a second to push Liz in and when he did he heard a familiar stream of barks notifying the master that they had guests. ”Lizzie!” Carrick called out as he tucked his wings behind his back and rolled into the apartment. It had been a few days since he had last seen the bulldog but he was sure he would be greeted like they haven’t seen each other in ages. Removing a dog treat or two from his pocket and making his way in front of the human Liz, Carrick held a treat up for Lizzie the dog and then looked to Jorge who seemed to be his usual grumpy self.

”Someone seems a little grumpy…” Carrick walked closer to Jorge and smirked, ”No way to greet someone who brings guests is it?” Carrick frowned slightly his tail flicking behind him as he turned slightly and introduced Liz, ”Elizabeth, this is grumpy, grumpy this is Elizabeth.” looking back to Liz he smiled, ”The other six dwarfs decided to take a leave of absence.”

Looking back to Jorge with a sly remark forming on the tip of his tongue he decided to comment on his looks and the way he was carrying himself, ”You look as sick as a small hospital…” Carrick said as he walked straight for the fridge noticing all the empty water bottles on the table next to the chair Jorge was no doubt sleeping in. Passing said chair Carrick eyed the title of the book and understood why he fell asleep.

”You should have called my phone and let me know you were sick.” Carrick said, his off hand way of letting Jorge know he now had a cell phone. ”Elizabeth, you want a water?” Carrick asked figuring it be best to use her full name seeing as the bulldog might have gotten confused. Opening the fridge and pulling three waters out Carrick walked back towards Jorge and handed him one, ”and we aren’t here to raid your fridge, I wanted to see if you wanted to grab some food…” reaching into his back pocket and removing a small wad of cash that he had found laying about, ”My treat…” placing the money back in his pocket Carrick removed the last dog biscuit he had and then tossed it towards the pooch before he walked over back to Liz with the water he had gotten for her even if she didn’t want it.

A skeptical look remained on Elizabeth’s face after the Winged Wonder’s assurance. Yeeeaaah. It was completely okay to just climb into a police officer’s window. For some reason, Liz just didn’t trust Carrick’s word on that 100%. Maybe she just knew him too well or something. Carrick had been known to bend the rules in the past. But whatever. The deed was done. She just hope the resident dog didn’t….

A one-dog pack of very vocal canines was suddenly there, putting on a rain dance or something. Vivid emotions splashed up against her mental barriers. Liz could tell what they were, even without trying to. Loyalty, territorialism, aggression, you know, Basic Dog Behavior 101. And when Liz actually got a good look at the pooch, her heart leaped to her eyes. It was the most adorable little bulldog she’d ever seen!

“Awww!” she crooned, kneeling down to the floor, simultaneously sending a steady stream of pleasant emotions to the dog. Happiness and contentment were the main ones, as well as a few drops of satisfaction. “There, there. We’re not going to take anything or hurt anyone. Just here to see your human, okay?” Liz crooned, rubbing the dog’s belly after it rolled over. She ignored Carrick calling her attention, solely because she disliked the nickname “Lizzie”.

However, due to the circumstances, Liz didn’t even think about ignoring their host, however reluctant or surprised he may be. “Carrick, I’m sure we’d be greeted much better if we had happened to call ahead,” she said with mild reprove. Then she stood up and gave a slightly embarrassed smile to Jorge. “How do you do, Mr….?” Liz didn’t want to sound pushy or anything, as if she were the owner of the place and the man the invader. In fact, she’d ‘ve much preferred to go possess an eagle and fly away. But that wasn’t possible under the circumstances so she tried being as polite as possible.

But Carrick didn’t seem to have any such limitations on his behavior. In fact, he made it seem like she practically lived there, the way he casually critiqued/admonished Jorge or how he just gave himself freedom to assault the fridge. Liz’ cheeks began to burn as Carrick just made himself at home in a total stranger’s (to her, at least) house. She declined the offer of water with a nervous shake of her head. Already the situation was very uncomfortable for her. What had she been thinking, going ahead and agreeing to come with Carrick?

And it seemed that Carrick had already made plans for the evening. Her eyebrows raised a bit when she saw the pile of greenbacks in Carrick’s hand. This whole thing was quickly leaving the lands of her comfort zone.

>> ”You look as sick as a small hospital…You should have called my phone and let me know you were sick.”[/color]

“Not sick, I just…was forced to over use my abilities a bit,” he said as he reached up and rubbed his extremely sore neck.

Normally Jorge would not have revealed that he was a mutant in front of strangers, but taking from the fact that whoever the girl was had come with Carrick, and that the boy had actual, working wings, he doubted she was a stranger to mutants. But still…why was here with him? Did they work together raiding people fridges for food a drink?

I was use I changed the lock on that window, he thought to himself as he eyed to window curiously.

Jorge shook his head and sighed as he watched the winged kid begin his regiment of snooping through his apartment. Of course the first place he went was the fridge but instead of making a sandwich or trying to sneak out a beer…the kid was nice enough to bring him back a bottle of water. He sighed as he tried to remain angry with the cheeky kid, but unfortunately that was not going to happen. It was obvious that Carrick was too used to getting into trouble and knew the right ways to get out of it.

The detective could only shake as he took the bottle of water from his hand and nodded a thanks to him. He quickly unscrewed the cap and began to drink it down. The cool liquid immediately absorbed into his body and he gave a small sigh of relief. He was thankful that he was at least starting to feel like his old self again.

>> ““Carrick, I’m sure we’d be greeted much better if we had happened to call ahead…How do you do, Mr….?”

“Cervantes.” he said with a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Liz.” he said a little cautiously. What a coincidence that his dog was also named the same time.

Hmm, the girl was polite and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, at least that is what Jorge could assume about her. All-in-all, she was a drastic contrast to Carrick’s bluntness and inability to accept that people have personal boundaries…so he liked her very much. Maybe she would have a good influence over the winged, Irish thief over time. At least that is only what the man could hope for.

He attempted to stifle a chuckle as he watched his beloved “guard” dog lying on her back, tapping her leg into the air over and over again as Liz seemed to find that exact spot that she loved to have scratched. The detective could only shake his head as he stood there, and cleared his throat. Lizzie, the dog, seemed to immediately take notice of this and moved onto her four small feet. She looked between him and the scratching girl, huffed and trotted off to find her dog bed again.

Jorge only shook his head as he watched her dog, unable to hide his grin as she disappeared into the hallway.

“My protector,” he chuckled and then turned back to the pair that had invaded his house.

Carrick then seemed to be offering the girl water, which she was refusing. He was liking her more all the time.

>> ”and we aren’t here to raid your fridge, I wanted to see if you wanted to grab some food…My treat…”

Jorge rose a brow as he looked down at the money the kid had in hand. For minute he wanted to call it in and question the kid for further thievery. Was there some man out there missing a wad of cash from his wallet? Maybe a young lady had her purse raided for whatever money she had left behind. But as Jorge ran these scenarios in his head, the more he began to realize just how silly they were. He would have to eventually trust the kid was on the up and up right?

He cracked a smile and nodded his head.

“Alright, kid, so long as your treating and no dine and dashing, I wouldn’t mind a hot meal,” he chuckle. In all honesty, he had not really cooked for himself in the past two days cause of how depleted he was feeling. This would be a good change of pace.

Not letting the refusal of the water he offered Liz effect his mood, Carrick smiled towards Jorge and then placed the wad of money back in the pocket he had removed it from. It seemed things were going the way he wanted, a good start to a great day. Like he told Liz, even if he’d never admit it Carrick really did enjoy Jorge’s company he was one of the first adults he actually looked forward to seeing.

”Well, that was a bit dense of you wasn’t it?” Carrick asked a touch of play in his voice as his tail swayed behind him as he addressed Jorge, ”Work?” he asked curiously, ”You get your arse handed to you?”

Mismatched colored eyes followed Lizzie the dog back to her bed as she curled up into a little ball to resume her usual position when she realized that Carrick wasn’t there for her. She was sleeping now and his eyes trailed back to where she was moment before, it didn’t surprise him that Liz handled the dog so well, she was Liz after all. Carrick’s smile widened slightly as he stared at her for a moment before his attention was snapped back to Jorge.

The water he handed him seconds before was now gone and it seemed that Jorge was still parched, wondering if it had anything to do with his mutation Carrick offered the water that Liz refused before looking away from the cop quickly adding shifting eyes, ”Dine and dash me? Never!” Carrick exclaimed as he took a step back towards the window glad Jorge didn’t ask about the origin of the wad of cash, sure he earned most of it but that didn’t mean that a bill or two were taken due to sticky fingers.

Another few steps to the window Carrick debated on how they were going to do this, he could only fly one person there and Jorge wasn’t his ideal passenger especially when there was Liz an option. ”So I was thinking of that diner down the street can’t remember the name but it’s the one with the blue front… the American diner or something like that…” Carrick was terrible with restaurant names, they didn’t really matter in the air seeing as none of them could have been read, as he was directly overhead.

”Race you there?” Carrick asked revealing his age looking from Jorge to Liz his smile widening a bit when they landed on Liz, ”Pretty sure we can beat you there…” Carrick took another step back and then turned towards the window and then took a few steps towards it till he crawled out and waited for Liz the mutant he sorta kinda maybe into… not the dog.

Liz didn’t bat an eyelash at Jorge’s mention of abilities. Every-day things like mutations just weren’t surprising her anymore. It that anytime something out of the norm happened, such as trespassing in a policeman’s house, it was always tied up with some mutant or another. In fact, Liz couldn’t remember the last time something major had happened to her that didn’t involve mutants directly.

A cleared throat made Liz look up at the instant Lizzie did. Beth managed to scratch one more time, nearly getting the canine’s leg to shake, before it rolled to its feet and began ambling away. The blonde beamed at the pet, sending it a few waves of affection. Liz was already in love with the pooch. She rolled onto her knees and pushed off the floor to stand up as the dog vanished from the room. Mr. Cervantes’ remark brought a smile to the side of her mouth. Yes, the dog was a really good protector. There just hadn’t been any need for protection, that’s all.

And then it seemed like dinner plans were all settled. Carrick was buying (which greatly relieved her, since she hadn’t brought money and she didn’t want to mooch off of Mr. Cervantes) and apparently they were going to be spending the time with the cop. That was okay. Liz never minded meeting new friends, which she was sure they could end up being. The man seemed nice and friendly enough, even tolerating Carrick’s intrusion. That was the equivalent to no small amount of points in her book.

“Um, see you there, I guess,” Liz said awkwardly to Mr. Cervantes as her malefriend headed over to their impromptu entrance. She half backed away/ half slid over to the window, feeling very weird at what they were doing. Carrick’s smile flashed her way and it just made her smile back. That had been happening quite a bit recently, the infectious smiles she kept getting from the angel. What was up with them?

“I’m sure we can, Carrick. No air traffic I can’t handle,” Liz said with a conspiratorial wink. Not that Liz was particularly looking forward to a race, since it felt completely unfair to her, no matter that there weren’t any prizes or much of any competition. “Besides, we’ve got a head start!” The emotionmancer clambered out of the window after the guy she had a certain level of friendliness to. Somehow she managed to allow her to be picked up for flight without falling to a bloody mess on the concrete below.

>> ”Race you there? Pretty sure we can beat you there…”

>> “I’m sure we can, Carrick. No air traffic I can’t handle…Besides, we’ve got a head start!”

Jorge did not answer Carrick’s comment about how he had pushed his powers to the limit. To be honest it was none of the kid’s business, but on top of it, Jorge had taken someone’s life. The essence, the spirit, soul if you must, was infused into that apple tree and Jorge used every ounce of strength he had to summon enough water to uproot it from the ground. For all intensive purposes, the man who had done this was dead. And the detective was the man who did it. He hated taking lives, he absolutely did, but he did what he had to in order to save lives.

With a shake of his head, he brought himself back to reality and grinned as Carrick and his girl Liz, started to climb back out the window. The young man wanted them to diner at some American diner that was down the street. Jorge had not the chance to try it yet, and as long as the kid was paying and not trying to scam a free meal, he was cool with it.

“All right, kid,” he said with a nod. “That diner sounds good. But I’m not racing you.” This was said without argument, mainly because Jorge did not think that driving madly through the streets to beat a winged Irish thief and his girlfriend was very plausible. Also for the fact that he knew Carrick would attempt to cheat in some way, shape or form. “I’ll meet you there, alright?” He said with a smile and nodded to the girl. “It was a pleasure to meet you Liz.”

With that the detective disappeared into his bedroom to change into something a less casual than sweats and a t-shirt. The man was still pretty tired but he was slowly waking up and getting back to feeling like his old self. He figured maybe a day or two more and he would be absolutely fine. He just needed rest…and to make sure not to push his powers that far again…unless he really had to.

As Jorge slipped on a pair of jeans and pulled a shirt over his head, he reached over to grab his leather bomber jacket when his cell phone suddenly rang. An arched brow, he glanced over at the number and immediately sighed. Of course it was work.

“Detective Cervantes here,” he answered as he lifted the phone to his ear. Immediately he was fed news about another incident. He nodded in understanding because duty always came first. “Got it, I’m on my way.”

Slipping his jacket on, Jorge snapped his phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket as he made his way out into the living room. This scenario was all too familiar. And he prayed so long as the kid had Liz with him, he would not be stupid and try to follow him again.

“Sorry Carry, I can’t go after all,” he said with a nod. “You treating me to food is going to have to be a rain check. Duty calls and I would appreciate it, this time, if you wouldn’t follow me.”

”Hurry you dolt! The police still haven’t caught up to us and I don’t want to engage in battle if I can help it!” The bronze colored man said as he opened the bag on his lap and admired the jewels momentarily before turning to look back in the van where a large feline like creature sat hunched over sniffing the body of the blonde hostage, ”And I have to inquire as to why you felt the need to grab the woman… a hostage only slows us down I don’t think we need here right now, not even the police are equipped to take us down.”

A pair of whiskers flicked as the feline humanoid growled back at the gorilla looking mutant before him, he was large and smart, the only reason he was around because he was so quick on his feet. In a low ruble a brown bushy main turned to the front seat, ”I don’t know how to explain it, I touched her and instantly felt stronger, my sense of smell more defined…I don’t know how to describe it.” the beast in the back paused, then his yellow eyes glared at the Gorilla, ”For now she stays, besides if it turned out to be adrenaline she can satisfy one of my hungers, I just haven’t decided which yet.” he let out a low growl and the driver in the front twitched nervously.

”Where here! snorted the mutant behind the wheel as he threw the van into park and opened the drivers door, ”We got to get moving I don’t want to be near the van any linger than I have to…” squealed the driver as he stood upright and extended his arms stretching as a greenish brown skin stretched.

All three mutants took off to the nearest warehouse, the gorilla mutant holding the gems and jewelry, the lion looking mutant feeling more energized as he carried the blonde over his shoulder and the thin pig like mutant ran after them sniffing the air and looking around making sure they weren’t followed. The last thing he wanted was to upset the boss even if he had found a treat in the blonde.

----

Carrick’s face beamed as Liz climbed out of the window and into his arms, even if it was an odd way to take off for a flight he still liked the fact that she trusted him like she did it meant a lot to him, even if he would never reveal it in any way other than the smirk on his face. The wink might have added a dash of red to his cheeks before he let out a small laugh, ”Even with air traffic we’ll toast’em!” Carrick said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Wings fully extended Carrick let out a small grunt as he flapped his wings towards Jorge’s apartment window and pushed his body back and by extension his possibly more than friend who remained safely in his arms that had might have even tightened around her. Not wanting to take the cheating head start Carrick waited around the building eye level with the floor where Jorge’s home and his nest away from mansion resided.

It took Jorge a minute but before Carrick could fully complain about the watermancer taking to long to change Jorge appeared at the window with a look on his face he was familiar with. It meant two things; with his dad back home it meant there was work to be down which meant no fun and with Jorge it meant work to be had and tons of fun for Carrick. Carrick held back a wide grin and nodded his head making look like he was upset with the turn of events as Jorge explained that the meal was getting a rain check.

”Me? Follow you?” Carrick asked mock in his tone to those who knew him. ”I learned my lesson last time!” Carrick said as he nodded his head, ”I guess we will see you around!” with that the Gryphon shifter opened up his wings and arched backwards and flew up higher and higher.

Once he was high enough for Jorge to lose suspicion Carrick located the officer’s car, ”My lesson was learned last time, Jorge isn’t much of a fighter…” Carrick said loud enough for Liz to hear him, ”I just want to make sure he doesn’t get his arse kicked...”

One quiet day. At this point, that was all Sveta wanted, all she dared to wish for: one day without mutants, police, fighting, fear and adventures. One, simple, normal day.
Did she get one?
Nope.

She sat in the back of the van, not even caring to be frightened anymore. Gosh, I have been kidnapped by scary mutants for my powers. It must be Tuesday.

>> ”I don’t know how to explain it, I touched her and instantly felt stronger, my sense of smell more defined…I don’t know how to describe it. For now she stays, besides if it turned out to be adrenaline she can satisfy one of my hungers, I just haven’t decided which yet.”

Sveta bit her lips, and did not comment on that, neither in English nor in Russian. They were right, she did have powers, and she must have boosted them considerably while they dragged her to the van. So, they noticed. Oh well. They might let her live just for that. She tried to guess what their powers were.
It was really not hard to guess.

>>”Where here! We got to get moving I don’t want to be near the van any linger than I have to…”

And then she was dragged out of the van. She didn't resist; she left the kicking and screaming for later. The police must be on its way; the robbing of the jewelry store was pretty loud, and she didn't exactly stay quiet either while she was being kidnapped. Someone must have noticed.

Someone must have.

“The pleasure was mine,” Elizabeth said easily, the common reply easily slipping off her tongue in response to Mr. Cervantes’ gentlemanly manners. A twinkle played around her brown eyes as the cop exited the room she was no longer in, probably to go off to get ready for an evening’s excursion. Judging the man from only knowing him for a few minutes, Liz instantly doubted that he was the kind of man who commonly went about town dressed in only the most casual of clothing to be had.

Overall, her current opinion of the man was very high. She understood why Carrick liked him so much.

Liz felt the shift in Carrick’s weight and the slight changes in his muscles that signified he was about to take off. She could feel his arms tighten around her, her own arms mirroring the feat around Carrick’s neck. They didn’t exactly make seatbelts for flying mutant bird-kids and their passengers so she would take all the safety she could get. Or at least, that’s what she told herself as she leaned her head against Carrick’s shoulder, snuggling in to get more comfortable as her escort put a little bit of space between them and the house.

Liz figured that Carrick was waiting around for Mr. Cervantes; otherwise they’d probably have been at the diner by the time the off-duty cop finally presented himself. Not that the man was slow or anything, just that Carrick was fast.

Elizabeth’s pleasant smile faltered a bit at the officer’s news. She understood the not being able to go part, but what’d he mean about Carrick not following him? Mystified, but tactfully remaining silent for the moment, Liz just looked up at Carrick’s face as they flew away. Obviously there was history between the boy and the man, but Liz had never really thought about what kind of history it was. She knew that Carrick sometimes had the slight tendency to develop highly adhesive substances on his phalanges, but she’d never thought that his pick pocketing would get him in so much trouble….

Their altitude began dramatically increasing. “What are you doing, Carrick?” she asked, a tinge of worry seeping into her voice. She high doubts that their diner was fifteen or sixteen stories above Mr. Cervantes’ house. Her guide’s accented voice began explaining, but it didn’t console her. “Wait, what are you doing?” she asked again, playfulness vanishing. “He told you not to follow him! And what do you mean, ‘last time’?” Concern and stubbornness stained her vocalizations.

Liz had a sneaking suspicion that they weren’t going to that diner anymore.

>> ”Me? Follow you?...I learned my lesson last time! I guess we will see you around!”

Jorge was not stupid. As much as Carry poured in that innocent “learned his lesson” speech, the detective knew all too well that the kid was lying. But there was really nothing he could do, short of handcuffing the kid to the fire escape. But knowing him, he more than likely would have a way to slip out of it. That was just the type of mischievous character he was! If he had done that Jorge would come back and find not only the cuffs picked and opened, but everything in his apartment gone…God he wanted to kill that kid sometimes.

Eyeballing him as he flew up high with the girl in his arms, Jorge gave them the “I’ve-got-my-eyes-on-you” gesture and disappeared back into his apartment. There was work to do. He prayed and prayed and prayed that by having the girl with him, Carry would not be stupid enough to follow him. Putting her into danger was NOT a good idea, especially with the type of criminals he would have to be dealing with now…

The call had come in that a jewelry store had been robbed. Three animal themed mutants and made off with a fortune’s worth of gems and jewelry and worst of all, along the way they had managed to kidnap a young, blonde bystander. People called in the robbery but police were having a hard time tracking them. Their van managed to slip by unseen and none of the traffic cameras had been able to catch a hint of it…that is until the police turned on the tracking jewel in their bag. The store owners were not stupid, these pieces of merchandise were highly valued so it was only natural that they would get a security device that could aide in their finding.

Jorge put on his holster, slipped his gun in, and zipped up his jacket around it. Once that was done, he grabbed his car keys and jogged out of his apartment, slamming the door closed behind him. He took the steps two at a time as he made his way outside and jumped into his car. As he revved up the engine, he snapped open his phone dialed the dispatch once more…

“Okay, I’m on my way. Where is their current location?” he asked as he peeled out of his parking spot.

Apparently because the jewelry store owners know the value of their pieces and the importance of getting them back should they be stolen, managed to invest in several tracking “jewels”. Pretty much it worked like a low-jack, a homing beacon for stolen cars except they were much smaller and were implanted in fake jewelry. One of them had been slipped in with the stolen merchandise and its location was being tracked. Smart owners…stupid thieves…

Jorge put his emergency flashers on the dashboard as he pulled out of the driveway and torn into the street. Cars immediately made way for him as he drove, as he spoke to dispatch over his speaker phone. They were closer than he thought and he would be there in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately back up would not be able to meet him so quickly. But maybe…just maybe if he could get there first, he could find some way to secure their hostage before they attempt to threaten her. He was not going to lose any lives on his watch, that would simply not be an option for him.

“Warehouse district,” he muttered to himself, “Can’t these guys ever think of someplace original?”

He shook his head as he drove, continuing to glance into his rearview mirror and into the sky above.

“Don’t be stupid, Carry, please…don’t be stupid…”

The winged mutant didn’t respond to the angel in his arms for a moment but waited instead waited to see what Jorge was doing where he was going, the last thing Carrick wanted was Jorge to get hurt, again even if he’d never admit it. Her question left unanswered was asked again a moment later and he blinked and focused on the car below where Jorge was entering to head off to wherever he was going. ”I helped him last time he was in trouble, he didn’t have any help and would have died.” Carrick said convinced that he had saved Jorge from the bee-man.

”You always do as your told?” Carrick asked his eyes shifting as the car started to move forward and off towards where the crisis was located, ”Just gonna make sure he doesn’t need help…” Carrick told Liz as he leaned forward and headed off in the direction of Jorge’s car staying carefully out of the line of sight so the cop wouldn’t try to do something like wait till Carrick left.

Knowing what Jorge would say right now if he was there Carrick sighed and shifted his eyes towards Liz who was in his arms, ”I’ll set you down when Jorge stops, somewhere safe…” he said hopefully hoping Liz wouldn’t argue to much on the idea of him still going to follow Jorge.

The last thing he wanted was his kind of possibly maybe more than just a friend injured or put into danger. The thought made Carrick tighten his grip and pull her closer to his body, while the wind continued to buffer them as the car below made its way towards where ever it was heading. Eyes focused on the car he kept his mind determined.

Sveta was tied to a chair. She did not like that at all, but it still beats being tied to a bed or a hook, so she kept her mouth shut once again. The whole scene looked like something out of a very bad movie: attractive blonde hostage tied up, ugly hairy thugs sorting jewelry, fighting over this and that, and watching the entrance, ready for a fight when the police arrives.
Sveta sighed.

The lion seemed interested. He prowled around in slow circles, coming closer and then backing away again; his eyes watched her curiously. He must have felt her powers as he walked in and out of her aura.
Dammit, thought Sveta, he is going to figure it out.

Maybe he did not trust the other two; he did not say a thing, just kept circling, and slowly coming closer, until he stood in front of her, hand reaching out to touch her face.

"F*ck you." Sveta said calmly; that earned her a stinging backhand slap, which was all good, the shorter the contact the better. The lion growled as he felt her boosting powers; he seemed to grow bigger, stronger, more feral.

"Interesting." he growled, reaching out to touch her face once again.

((OOC: Sorry sorry sorry truly sorry for the wait guys!!!))