>> “Yeah…Agnes...I need her.”

The words still rebounded in the detective’s head as he watched Rhythm speak of her love for the other girl. She seemed like she would be good for her, at least better than Isabel could ever be. Jorge only hoped that the feelings could be reciprocated. If Rhythm took the first rejection this hard, he could not imagine how she would react if she were shunned away again. There were only so many jams he could get her out of. But, maybe he wouldn’t need to again. Rhythm seemed earnest when she had told him she needed her.

Hopefully, whoever this Agnes was, she would listen.

And then they got down to the jist of it. Removing his small notepad and pen from his coat, Jorge listened as Rhythm retold him everything she could about Isabel. She knew where she lived, more current description of her appearance, as well as the extent that she witnessed her abilities. There was a lot of information, not all of it useful (Why did he need to know what she tasted like?) but some could prove to be helpful down the line. That was all he could count on.

When she seemed to finally be done, as she was scratching her head for more information, Jorge smiled a bit as he clicked his pen and returned it to his pocket. On top of that, he slipped his notepad back in as well before he crossed his arms over his chest to watch her.

>> “Ummm...that's it, I think…I mean...useful? Any of that? Like...don't know much. About her, I mean.”

“It’ll be fine, I swear,” he nodded approvingly.

It had been a long day already and one he was simply not going to forget. Cracking his neck to the side, it alleviated some of the pressure and stress from the day. He still had to take care of those artifacts and return them to the museum. It was going to be trickery but he had a plan for doing it that would not trace back to him or Rhythm. At least he hoped so.

Finally, with a resolute sigh, he watched Rhythm closely. “So…what’s it to be, Ms. Rhythm? You going to go look for this girl now, since you’re already here? Or you want me to take you home?”

>>“So…what’s it to be, Ms. Rhythm? You going to go look for this girl now, since you’re already here? Or you want me to take you home?”

“Look for Agnes.” Ashley said, looking up and down the hall as if by saying her name the mutant girl would just pop into existence. “Big place though...”

She drew herself up, straightening her back to her full height. She wasn't small by any means but she felt like she needed to stand up straight as she gave Jorge a small salute. She really didn't know how to properly thanks the detective, so instead she gave what she thought was a proper salute before flinging herself onto the older man and hugging the life out of him.

“Thank you.” Ashley said, her voice a tad muffled. “For everything.”

She took a step back and picked up her combat boots before turning. She knew where the boys stayed and slept because she always was looking for Andrew over there. It shouldn't be that hard to find out where the girls slept. She held up a hand, waving to her savior and, let's be honest, father figure that her mind had latched onto and ran off down the hall.

“Bye Santa!!”

Ashley hoped that Jorge didn't mind that she had swiped his pen. It was shiny, after all, and silver. It even had Jorge's name on it.