The restaurant was a nice one. It was somewhat expensive, served a little of everything, and was a favorite place for some of her clients to meet her. It was right at the intersection of a number of territories and Mina had worked for all of them at various points. She was, therefore intimately familiar with this restaurant and it's status as neutral ground. This was the day after the kidnapping. Despite her run in with Krisz while doing recon it had gone smoothly. He'd been easily seduced and hadn't even realized what was happening until she'd handed him over.

His father had caved to the ransom demand quite quickly and so Mina was no only going to get paid at this lunch but she'd been promised a bonus because things had worked so well. Mina stepped out of the Jaguar in a dark blue dress with black stiletto peeptoe sandals and handed the keys to the valet. She made sure he knew to take good care of her beloved car before she entered the restaurant and was shown to the private room that her employer had booked.

The man in question was Asian but more than that Mina had never learned. He spoke perfect English without a trace of accent and his particular gang wasn't affiliated with any culture specific group. It didn't matter to her. He was an elderly gentleman but one of these that had aged very gracefully so that the extra years sat well on him. Mina sat down in the empty chair across from him.

"Hello." she greeted.

He nodded in return. He tended to take his time when addressing business so Mina was prepared to wait a little bit before anything truly important happened.

He had to find her.
It was not because she owed him anything, really. She clearly did not. He did not owe her anything either - not attention, not apologies, no thanks, no nothing. He was not even attracted to her. He. Was not.
He had to find her because the story needed it.
Krisz hated stories without an ending, and this one was clearly just starting out. And between the mysterious mutant woman and the ghost, it promised to be exciting.

Turns out, finding someone in NYC is much easier if someone is a voice floating around. Get a good look at the car; get a good look at the lady. That was all it took. Well, that, and almost two days.
He could have just followed her all the way. But where would be the fun in that?

Mina (if that was her name) did look stunning in her dress. Krisz hummed his way into the restaurant and circled around.
She had a date. Some old Asian guy.
Wasn't she in the business of fishing for young rich kids? What the heck was she doing on a date with the old guy? He... could have been rich. But still.

"Mina Mina, kedvesem, what are you up to?" he murmured under his invisible breath before he floated closer, between the menu and the lady. "Nice dress. Positively revealing."

If she muted him, she would be looking at a naked man on her dinner table.

The voice was familiar and she cursed it up one side and down the other as it spoke from between her menu and herself.

"Krisztian!" she hissed angrily as quietly as she could, "Go away or I will mute you and leave you to the tender mercies of this man's bodyguards! I assure you they don't like mutant snoops!"

At a questioning look from her employer Mina simply lowered the menu and smiled serenely.

"A friend with bad timing called me. I told him I was busy."

He seemed to accept the explanation for the furious whispering and went back to choosing his meal. Mina gave a small relieved sigh and once the menu was raised again glared at where she hoped Krisztian was. She would kill that paralyzed man when she got the chance. Or maybe just further his paralysis with a few bullets to the spine. That seemed like a fitting punishment. Keeping her voice at a whisper she addressed him again.

"What are you even doing here Krisztian?!"

That she very much wanted to know so she knew how many bullets she had to put into him.

>>"Krisztian! Go away or I will mute you and leave you to the tender mercies of this man's bodyguards! I assure you they don't like mutant snoops!"

This man. Business relationship. Someone V.I.P., from the sound of it, if Mina talked about him like that. Asian maffia? Gosh, do these Americans really live in movies?...

>>"A friend with bad timing called me. I told him I was busy."

Busy indeed. So this was not a date. It was something more... official. Businesslike.

>>"What are you even doing here Krisztian?!"

"Checking up you" he whispered, a smirk obvious in his voice "After that excellent improvised paper on female behavior, you don't get to just walk away. Gotta make sure you stay out of trouble and all that. I'm a writer. The mysterious woman has a story, and I am going to find it."

Floating closer to her ear.

"You can call me Krisz." he added in a conspiratory whisper.

Forget bullets. She wanted to strangle him. She wanted to hear him choking. Inwardly Mina was frothing with rage yet she managed to keep a fairly civil face. Somehow her lecturing him had intrigued him and now he was following her. It wasn't quite as fun when she was the one being stalked. Still she managed a small smirk.

"So am I to be the protagonist of your next book? You'll need to know a lot more about me for that."

She could call him Krisz?! It wasn't the permission that annoyed her but the familiarity. As though they were friends! Mina did not have friends. They were weaknesses to be exploited by others. The waiter entered then, preventing Mina from saying anything and took their orders. Mr. Tsun, as he called himself for Mina's sake, ordered a steak. Mina merely ordered a soup, salad, and a glass of white wine because with Krisz's appearance (or lack there of if you wanted to be witty) she needed the drink.

The waiter departed, leaving Mina and Mr. Tsun alone. The bodyguards were just outside the door. Tsun didn't like having them standing over him when he ate.

"You did an excellent job, Karina. I was very pleased with your work. Thorough, swift, and you knew exactly when to depart. We will be retaining your services again in the future."

Mina graced him with a smile.

"Thank you Mr. Tsun. I look forward to working with you again."

It was the typical song and dance. Mina was able to play her part flawlessly even with the unexpected annoyance.

>>"So am I to be the protagonist of your next book? You'll need to know a lot more about me for that."

"Looking forward to it" Krisz agreed cheerfully. He had not been thinking of actually writing the story down; some stories were just for... knowing. But now that he thought about it, Mina would make such an excellent main character...

Krisz hummed while they placed their orders, not wanting to draw attention; he floated around the restaurant, and noted body guards outside. So she was telling the truth.

>>"You did an excellent job, Karina. I was very pleased with your work. Thorough, swift, and you knew exactly when to depart. We will be retaining your services again in the future."

I'm gonna need a cold shower.

Krisz 'hmmm'-ed appreciatively and held back a chuckle.

"Karina? Is that a work name? Or is that Mina?" he wanted to know, more out of curiosity than anything else. She changed personas, and names, and hung out with rich folks. Veeeery suspicious. "Whoa this guy really looks satisfied. You must be good at whatever it is you are doing. Did you pull him out of some water too?"

Because she really was good at that.

He looked forward to it huh? Pity he wouldn't get anything out of her. Mina certainly didn't intend to let a lowly writer in the details of her life. She couldn't afford distractions right now. The meals and drinks arrived in good time. Mina took to her drink with perhaps a little more gusto than was strictly kosher but it didn't matter to her. She completely ignored Krisztian's commentary. Well perhaps not completely but she didn't react as he chattered to her. No she just kept after her meal and drink. It wasn't until after the meal was finished that Mr. Tsun decided to talk again.

"Boys."

It was only one word but it had the effect of calling the bodyguards into the room. One of them carried a case with him. It was one of those hard-sided briefcases. The ones that so often appeared in movies for shady deals. Either Tsun was unaware of this or he used it because of that. She smirked a little at seeing it and even more as the bodyguard carrying the case laid it on the table in front of her. She opened it to the sight of two things. One was a beautiful and obviously very expensive silk dress. The other was the most beautiful thing in the world to Mina, a very large sum of money.

"The agreed upon sum as well as a bonus for a job very well done. I will be requiring your services at the next organization banquet and I ask that you wear that."

Mina nodded.

"Of course Mr. Tsun."

>>"The agreed upon sum as well as a bonus for a job very well done. I will be requiring your services at the next organization banquet and I ask that you wear that."

Krisz whistled. Louder than he'd expected.
Mina being an escort? Not quite unexpected, after all the signs.
Mina being a very expensive escort?
He thought that only existed in movies.

If I could get that amount of money for an hour's work...

With the bodyguards and all, Krisz did not dare to comment on the money, and the dress, so he just hummed around. Now it made sense, the flirting. Did she really think he was rich? Was that why she tried to hit on him?...
Mina was a very smart woman. He already knew that. He wondered why she chose this job.

The story was just getting better and better.

Krisz made his presence known with a loud whistle over the amount of money in the case. If only they'd been alone she'd have muted him and slapped him. As it was the bodyguards were now jumpy, searching every inch of the room. Mina sighed and stood.

"Pardon me Mr. Tsun but I'm going to powder my nose if you don't mind."

Tsun simply nodded and regarded his bodyguards as they searched the space. Mina on the other hand shot a look at the space the whistle had come from that quite clearly said she wanted him to follow her and departed. The case of course came with her. Once she got into the bathroom, quite devoid of other people thankfully, her pleasant expression slipped away to one of exasperation. Mr. Tsun paid handsomely for the work she did for him. She did not need some punk writer screwing things up for her.

"Bet the police will wonder how a naked man got into the women's restrooms at a restaurant without anyone noticing and without leaving any clue as to how he got there." she muttered as she waited for Krisz to announce his presence so she could mute him and work off some frustration.

>>"Pardon me Mr. Tsun but I'm going to powder my nose if you don't mind."

Mina walked away, together witht he money, towards the bathroom. Krisz wondered. Was that some kind of a code? You can never know, with phrases like that. The last time he'd heard it was in Pulp Fiction.
Boy did that go well.

Mr. Tsun stayed at the table. The bodyguards kept looking around; they grew jumpy after the whistle, he did not blame them.

"She is trouble" the man said quietly "She has that look. She did well with the job, but she is a liability..."

The bodyguards did not comment. They were not getting paid for that.

"Well, she only has to stay quiet till the ball. She has that thing about staying quiet. After that, we will make sure she is quiet, forever..."

Oh my god I am in a very bad movie.

Krisz hummmmmed his way to the women's bathroom, and hummmmed through the closed door.

"Mina? Karina? Whatever your name is? You here? There is something we need to talk about..."

Mina looked up from her spot at the sinks when she finally heard Krisztian's voice. She glared in his direction, one of the hardest glares she could manage while still smiling.

"Krisztian you could have got me killed back there! You are so lucky they only noticed you when you whistled! If they'd known you were there they would have killed us both! What the hell were you thinking?!"

Before he could respond she threw up a silencing field. The moment his body hit the floor she was diving at him with hands forward and just waiting to wrap around his throat. She might not kill him. That would be a mess to clean up that she really didn't want. She would however put the fear of God and women into him.

Mina smiled the entire time. Her usual, slightly cold smile. It didn't really occur to Mina that it might make her look less than sane. Such ideas never really crossed her mind. She smiled because the world sucked and there was no point moping about it. Mina smiled because of her daddy. But right she mostly smiled at the thought of choking some of the life out of Krisztian.

>>"Krisztian you could have got me killed back there! You are so lucky they only noticed you when you whistled! If they'd known you were there they would have killed us both! What the hell were you thinking?!"

So, she knew? What, she was not only doing... stuff... for money, but she did... stuff... for money for the freaking Asian mob?!?!

"Mina listen they..."

And the rest, as usual, was silence.

He cried out but made no sound as his body once again was yanked together, and he hit the cold tile floor like a ton of lead bricks. Or so it felt. The impact made him dizzy, and he felt the taste of metal in his mouth... but in the next moment, he had much more pressing issues than that.

Mina was straddling him, with her hands around his throat.

Creepy b*tch.

Krisz struggled, as much as he could, with his movements still clumsy, and his legs not helping at all; he gripped her wrists, trying to pull her hands away, and was surprised how strong she was.

What the hell is this woman?!

Opening and closing his mouth, he tried to choke out a sound, tried to explain, or at least give her a sign that there was something really, very important he needed to tell her. The world grew smaller and smaller as blood drummed in his ears and his vision started to blur.

You are a writer.
Communicate.

Letting go of her wrists, he pointed towards the door, trying to tll her through gestures that she was screwed, as far as the Asians were concerned, and she'd better stop choking him for he was about to save her life, thank you very much.

Women...

He apparently had something to say. At least that was what the voice sounded like it was trying to tell her before she'd turned said voice into the man she knew it to be and began strangling him. She watched and recognized as he began to lose air. She'd watched this before so she knew each various point. He tried to pry her hands away but to no avail. Then he started gesturing. Whatever he had to say apparently meant more than the ability to breathe. With a mental frown she very slowly eased the pressure off of his throat and got up. Then she dismissed the silencing.

"Alright Krisz. You get one shot. Tell me whatever it is that you think is so important and I'll tell you whether or not you'll be getting killed today."

Whatever he had to say had better be worth it. She'd been enjoying choking him. Mina strolled over to the mirror and began checking her make up.

"In either case I need to get back to the meeting soon. Mr. Tsun does not tolerate being kept waiting very well."

She'd seen the old man shoot a couple of new comers to the gang for being late to a gathering once. Mina hadn't cared a fig for them but it did showcase how seriously he took his time. If Mina didn't show back up to the table soon she could kiss any further contracts from him goodbye.

She let him go.
Krisz drew a desperate, endless breath that felt better than sex, and rubbed his throat as she got off him. Silence was lifted and he could feel the faint pull on his body, but he was too shaken to shift back. Instean he rolled to his side and coughed.

>>"Alright Krisz. You get one shot. Tell me whatever it is that you think is so important and I'll tell you whether or not you'll be getting killed today. In either case I need to get back to the meeting soon. Mr. Tsun does not tolerate being kept waiting very well."

"Damn, woman" Krisz panted, still trying to catch up on breathing "What the hell?!"

For a brief moment he considered not saying anything at all. She would walk back to Mr. Tsun and go to the ball with him and then we'd see who gets killed.
But. Krisz was not a villain. He was a hero. An aspiring one, anyway. Also, if he did not come up with something, she'd kill him right now. He knew she would. This woman was not kidding.

"Not that it really matters or anything..." he panted, rolling onto his back again "... since you are in control and everything, but, just in case you were wondering, he is going to kill you at the ball. That's all. I'm sorry I couldn't come up with anything more important. Just thought you might enjoy that nugget of information."

The commentary and exasperated question were ignored easily. She'd heard worse from targets before. Krisz wasn't a target and the remark wasn't all that inflammatory so she could ignore it with practiced ease. No, she listened and waited for the information he'd felt was more important than air.

Tsun was planning on double crossing her.

Mina's smile dipped dangerously downward but she just barely stopped it from turning into anything less than a very neutral smile.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Tsun has always been quick to dispose of things he views as a threat. Someone in his ranks probably pointed out how many secrets of his I know."

That turned her almost frown into a smirk.

"Turnabout is fair play as they say. I think his rivals will be getting a glut of new information on his gang."

She turned and considered Krisz for a moment. Straight up thanks was not something Mina was accustomed to giving. So doing so for this was going to be difficult for her.

"I think I should say thank you. I wouldn't have this information without you. Now I can ensure that they get what they deserve and that I'll stay alive another day to work again."