The security that would be there the following evening wasn't in place right now but that didn't mean that Mina couldn't get a good look at the layout of the boat and figure out her best options for arrival and exit. She stood on the pier dressed in a sun dress and hat that, given a choice, she would never wear in a million years. However it fit right in with the other yacht club women nearby. Most of the talk today was of tomorrow night's party and inadvertently was provide Mina with a good deal of the information she needed to pull off the job.

The job? Well, the proud father that was throwing a party for his son's entrance into an ivy league party had made quite a lot of money this year. One of the local organizations had decided they wanted a slice of the action and rather than trying the protection racket had instead chosen to have the son kidnapped. That was where Mina came in. Her basic plan was to waltz on board, seduce the foolish child into leaving the party with her, and deliver him right into the waiting hands of the organization in question. Now if it didn't work out that smoothly? Well Mina always had back ups ready. If it came to it she had some of the organization's toughs on stand by to come and hold the boat hostage.

The woman moved placidly down the pier with a smile on her face. She needed to get a good look at the boat from all possible angles to ensure she didn't miss anything. As she walked past the boat's moorings she heard the strains of some song about being on a boat drifting down from the deck. The dj was probably testing his equipment. Why he or she chose that song was beyond Mina. Did they think it was clever? She stopped herself from snorting and made do with a tiny roll of her eyes. Mina had all the information she could garner from the outside of the boat. She'd be back this evening to actually sneak onto the boat itself. For now she contented herself with memorizing each little detail that she'd discovered and feigning interest in the other boats nearby.

The thing about partying: you kinda need a body to do it right.

"Now now, what do we have here? Whoah that's one big *** ship. Probably costs a fortune just to board that thing. Or I could do it just for fun, and no one would even notice. 'I'm on a boat', huh. Whoever listens to noise like that? I wonder if they have other parties on other boats. It is time I tried one of them. At least I can't drown now. Big plus there. Cannot get drunk either... that ven sit out I guess. Hello ladies!"

Some of the women turned their heads, confused, trying to spot the man who just greeted them. Krisz chuckled and moved on, circling the boat. On his way back, he saw one of the women apart from the group; she was looking at the boat as if she was seeing one for the first time. She was also wearing a sundress and a hat. Pretty American lady. Hmm.

"Nice dress" the voice said behind her. Krisz sounded positively cheerful. He was getting the hang of being a ghost. To his utter surprise and horror, it was making him braver. It is easy to talk when people can't see you. That's why the Internet was born, duh.
(Well, that, and other things, lalala)

"Nice boat." he added, from a different angle, hoping to keep her looking around.

Now Mina had been just about to move on when she noticed something. The other women on the dock looked confused and were looking about for someone or something. Shortly after this a mystery voice paid her a compliment on her dress. Mina gave a cursory glance around, surmised that she was dealing with some that was either a mutant or just very good at throwing their voice, and brought her gaze back to the boat. Her smile edged upward. She'd play with whoever it was.

"Isn't it? I got it at the sales just yesterday. Only a hundred dollars. I just couldn't pass it up!"

The voice was cheerful so she matched it with the vapid and dull personality of any of the other women on this dock. Mina doubted any of them had ever even seen a gun, let alone shot one. She didn't turn when the voice commented on the boat. Her smile simply ratcheted up another notch.

"It's a very nice boat. The owner's son just got into Princeton so he's throwing him a big party to celebrate. Now between you and me he wanted the boy to get into Harvard but he just didn't have the right stuff for Harvard. Mind you, rumor is that daddy had to pull a few strings just to get the boy into Princeton but you didn't hear that from me."

Mina was very thorough when she did her research for society jobs. In places like this your cover depended on being conversant in the latest in a number of things, gossip being the most important if you were a woman.

The girl was answering him. That surprised Krisz a great deal and he kpt humming hesitantly for a good few seconds, thinking about the situation. It was usually the other person who got confused by a voice without a body following them around. He could get all kinds of interesting reactions from people.
Cheerful ignorance was not usually one of them. She either had many friends who talked out of thin air, or...

>>"Isn't it? I got it at the sales just yesterday. Only a hundred dollars. I just couldn't pass it up!"

... or she was just that dumb.

Also, a hundred dollars, that was probably more than what his entire wardrobe cost in Forints. Back when her was still wearing clothes, that is.
Krisz whistled, and hummed around.

>>"It's a very nice boat. The owner's son just got into Princeton so he's throwing him a big party to celebrate. Now between you and me he wanted the boy to get into Harvard but he just didn't have the right stuff for Harvard. Mind you, rumor is that daddy had to pull a few strings just to get the boy into Princeton but you didn't hear that from me."

And now she was making a conversation. A vry interesting one too. Sounded like something from one of his books. Maybe the next one.

"Of course I didn't. I have always wondered though why people this filthy rich go to college at all. Must be a prestige thing, the kid could be dumb as a stick and he would still have more money than one person should have. Nice boat though, really, and I bet he never goes lonely when there are women around...." there was a hint of envy in his voice, and also some sarcasm "Some charms are just irresistible, am I right? I bet those pretty ladies would be capable of amazing things just to have a piece of him. Maaabye there could be a fight. And then someone would fall overboard. Drama drama. Hmmm. That's actually not bad for a start..."

The voice didn't answer straight away. No, it hummed and whistled while she spoke. Perhaps the person responsible for the voice couldn't tolerate silence? If so they'd picked the wrong woman to talk to. If it was a mutant then it could be any sort of reason. In either case she had the advantage in the end. All she'd have to do would be to toss a mute field out if they got too annoying. Mina kept smiling while the voice went into a diatribe of sorts. Once it gave her a pause she jumped in.

"Oh well that's because their fathers often expect them to do just as well as they did and you stand a better chance of that if you aren't dumb! Though part of it is prestige too. Harvard means a lot after all. Princeton not so much but if it's the best the boy could do then his dad will just have to hope he doesn't embarrass him."

Whoever he was, he sounded like a writer considering the next part of his rambling diatribe sounded more like he was speaking his thoughts as they came rather than making conversation. Still, Mina kept her smile and cheerful tone intact.

"Well yes, he's a rich young man with a very rich father whose company just had a very excellent year. Most of the women on that boat will be trying to win the boy over. Not bad for a start? A start to what? Do you write books?!"

Lord she sounded like she was short a few hundred IQ points. Still, she'd played more annoying than this before. She could tolerate it for a bit longer. Either the person responsible for the voice would get tired or she would.

>>"Oh well that's because their fathers often expect them to do just as well as they did and you stand a better chance of that if you aren't dumb! Though part of it is prestige too. Harvard means a lot after all. Princeton not so much but if it's the best the boy could do then his dad will just have to hope he doesn't embarrass him."

Yep. She was definitely making a conversation here. And she was probably right about the Princeton thing too. Not so much? Did she have any idea what she was talking about?...

"Different perspectives" he muttered to himself, humming around as she went on talking.
Boy is this woman annoying. She talks waaaay too much.

>>"Well yes, he's a rich young man with a very rich father whose company just had a very excellent year. Most of the women on that boat will be trying to win the boy over. Not bad for a start? A start to what? Do you write books?!"

Whoops.
All right, so she was still not surprised at a voice without a body. One could blame a few different things for that: cellphones, Internet, mutants, stupidity...
... or she was just nuts.

"Duh." he muttered "That's gotta be it."

She was clearly used to talking to voices in her head.

"Naaah I am just a voice in your head. Don't worry sweetheart it's fine. It's like one of those movies, you know? I am the voice of your, of your, inner self. Your conscience. Yes. Although, I guess, I could write books if you want me to. I definitely could. I think I would be good at it. Is that something you always wantd to try? I bet it is. Pretty ladies have great stories to tell, I bet. They have been doing fine in the past few years. Look at all the bestsellers. All women. All of them. Wanna know why? Me too!"

When the voice finally replied it turned her cheerful smile into something wicked in a heartbeat. Whoever the voice was, it thought she was insane and was trying to play along with that.

"Let me clue you into a little secret." she whispered conspiratorially, "You know those mutants that everyone talks about? I'm one of them."

Mina examined her nails as if nothing had changed in the conversation. However her face began to settle into more natural lines as she let the character slip for a time to teach whomever this was a lesson.

"Now my ability may not blow things up or make people fall in love or any of that other nonsense but it does serve it's purpose. Like right now."

And with that Mina slapped a wide area silencing field around her. Not only was she now blessedly free from having to listen to the fool but he wouldn't be able to talk either. Mina breathed a sigh of relief that was immediately silenced by her power. Other mutants could take their flashy powers and good riddance. Mina was quite pleased with her power. It was incredibly useful for her job and there was nothing quite like silence. Silence is golden, as the saying goes.

>>"Let me clue you into a little secret. You know those mutants that everyone talks about? I'm one of them."

And what does she think I am?!...

"Uh-huh" Krisz agreed hesitantly, but the girl was not yet done talking.

>>"Now my ability may not blow things up or make people fall in love or any of that other nonsense but it does serve it's purpose. Like right now."

And the rest was silence.

Basszuskulcs...

Krisz felt his body being yanked back together into a physical form; he felt like he weighed a ton, as if he was made of lead, and for someone that heavy, it was only natural to fall.
Do he fell.

And missed the pier.

Bassz...

His annoyed yell went mute the second time. No sound. None at all. He caught a glimpse of the sundress and the hat.
She really was a mutant.

Mute-ant. Heh. Get it?

Cold salt water hit him in the face; there was some thrashing, arms too clumsy and legs useless, and then he sank like a stone.

Sh*t, I'm gonna die. Again.

Mina hadn't been expecting a man to materialize when she activated her mutation. Nor was she expecting him to fall in the water. The unexpected things just kept on coming when she realized two things. One, he was naked. Two, he didn't appear to be able to swim. Mina frowned and thought about it for a moment. She wasn't obliged to save him. However her cover identity here would suffer if she didn't. She didn't really have any reason to want whoever he was dead. Therefore Mina tossed the hat and her purse onto the dock and dove into the water.

Thankfully he hadn't sunk to far. Mina slipped an arm around his shoulders and began swimming toward the surface. Unfortunately he was either too shocked to do help out by swimming, couldn't swim, or perhaps was paralyzed. In either case it was a struggle to get to the surface since she was essentially carrying dead weight. Thankfully though she made it to the docks and shifted the silencing field so that she wasn't in it so she could speak to the group of onlookers that had gathered. The usual "Are you alright?!"s peppered the air.

"We're fine. If one of you could go get the poor guy some clothes from the club? I don't know where his went but he sure can't stay like this."

At her assurance that there was no blood and gore to see most of the well wishers left. A couple more trotted off to the club house to get the guy some clothes. Mina dug around in her purse for a pen and a pad of paper, eventually finding one. She usually used it to make notes when she was casing a place for a job. Now she tore the used pieces off and began to scribble on it.

I'm assuming your mutation will turn you back into whatever formless state you were in if I unsilence you. We'll communicate like this for now since I'm not about to let you go just yet.

She handed the pen and paper over to the man and studied him intently. After all, it wasn't every day she made a naked man appear out of thin air. She was going to get her effort's worth before the girls returned with some clothes for him.

Of course he did not drown. That would have made for a poor story.

The hot chick pulling him out of the water. Now that was much better.

Even if it was all kinds of awkward, and it took them a lot of time to struggle up onto the dock. Krisz felt like a fish out of water, except with much less wiggling around. The best he could do was roll onto his side, away from all the women staring.
And towards the hot chick in the wet sundress who almost killed him.

I'm assuming your mutation will turn you back into whatever formless state you were in if I unsilence you. We'll communicate like this for now since I'm not about to let you go just yet.

He took the pen; his hand left wet marks on the paper. Thre was a stubborn expression on his face as he scribbled a short note.

I hate you.

He seemed to shy away from all the attention he was getting from the women on the dock. One of Mina's eyebrows rose incrementally at that. Most men would revel in be the certain of attention for so many women. Shy perhaps? In either case she might be able to have a bit of fun with this one. A man was just that after all. Mina delighted in making them squirm. He got a stubborn expression on his face as he replied to her note with three short words that made Mina want to laugh riotously when she read them. Though it was a mighty struggle to avoid said laughter Mina managed it and instead schooled her expression into one of hurt as she wrote her reply.

What? Not a thank you kiss or even a hug for your rescuer? I'm hurt, really I am.

Mina passed the notepad and pen back to the unnamed man and looked around again. The dock was nearly deserted now. The dj on the boat had ceased his sound checks too. In fact if she weren't fairly sure that her silencing was the only thing keeping the man in human form she wouldn't need it at all. As it was she kept it up and centered on the man. This was just too good a situation to let go too quickly. It wasn't every day that she had a man completely at her mercy against his will. Well...using just her mutation anyway. Men at her mercy willingly or unwillingly happened fairly frequently otherwise. Knowing that he couldn't hear her and that there was really no one else around to hear Mina muttered to herself.

"He hates me. Really? He doesn't even know me. Now if he did he might have reason to hate me. Most people that know me do."

Mina smirked a little. It was a pity she couldn't keep this up forever. It could be quite fun to tease him regularly.

What? Not a thank you kiss or even a hug for your rescuer? I'm hurt, really I am.

Krisz shook his head and struggled to pull himself into a sitting position before snatching the notepad from her.

And I am naked, soaked, cold, mute, and I CAN'T MOVE.

Tossing the notepad back at her, he tried to achieve a more comfortable position, glancing over at the yacht, wondering is any of those women was going to bring him a blanket or something. Glancing back at the woman, for a fleeting moment he felt like she was actually enjoying this. While the cruelty of women was nothing new to him, it still felt like crap.

Saved him? Sure. F. you very much.

Mina just rolled her eyes at the grousing on the paper. Picking up the pen she scribbled a quick response.

Oh do quit whining. You're still alive aren't you? The rest can be fixed. I sent a couple of the girls off to the club house to nab you some clothes. You'll dry off sooner or later. Now the can't move I can't do anything about but I can definitely help the cold.

She showed him the note pad so that he could see what she'd written. When she was sure he'd read the lot of it she clambered onto his lap and snuggled up close. If he was going to whine and moan she'd have a little fun making him uncomfortable. Taking up the pen again she scribbled a bit more.

There, now isn't that better?

She handed him the notepad and pen and busied herself studying his face more closely. He wasn't half bad looking. Pity about his apparent paralysis but that didn't mean he couldn't still serve a purpose as eye candy. Plus he was proving fun to taunt, as most men did. She hadn't meet one yet that she hadn't enjoyed taunting. Even that other merc that she'd split a take with had been fun, in a way. Not that she cared a whit for him. In fact if she ever met him again she planned to kill him. He wasn't important now though. Mina was planning how to further amuse herself by taunting this poor schmuck. Turnabout was fair play after all.

Oh do quit whining. You're still alive aren't you? The rest can be fixed. I sent a couple of the girls off to the club house to nab you some clothes. You'll dry off sooner or later. Now the can't move I can't do anything about but I can definitely help the cold.

Nope, she did not exactly say she was sorry or apologized for almost killing him. In fact, she was making the whole situation look like he... sucked. Krisz hummed, force of habit, and made a face (also force of habit, of not being seen), then froze.

There, now isn't that better?

Oh, it was definitely better. Also, at the same time, infinitely worse. What the hell was that woman thinking?!

"Hey! What the f...."

Nope, still no sound.

Krisz stared. He was not exactly in a position to shove her away. He would need both hands to pry her off, and then he would just fall over. Bummer.
So, Krisz sat with the strange woman mutant on his lap, blinking stupidly, until the women with the clothes arrived.

Mina grinned at his reaction. It was precisely what she'd hoped for. She snagged the notepad back and cuddled against him as she wrote.

So does my cozy new seat have a name? I'm Mina by the way.

A variant on her true first name worked. It was what she used at this yacht club actually. She held the notepad up for him to see and then set it down so he could comfortably write. Let it not be said that she didn't have basic manners. When she wasn't trying to kill or kidnap people anyway. After another minute or two Mina spied the two women returning with some bundles in their arms that were sure to be clothing for the poor naked man. Mina reluctantly got up, gave him one last once over, and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Then she stood and exited the silence field to claim the clothing the girls had retrieved.

"Thanks so much girls. Does the club have a wheelchair handy. I think he'll need it. Otherwise I'll need some help to get him back to the clubhouse."

The girls shrugged and said they weren't sure but would go and find out. As soon as the girls were out of sight Mina tossed the clothes to the man and scribbled on the notepad.

There ya go. Clothes. Need any help?

A slight smirk graced her lips.