Reports of people with strange and wonderful abilities were becoming almost a daily occurrence and Paul couldn't help but feel connected to all of these individuals, even though they were complete strangers. For years he had felt alone, with only the very rare companionship of someone else with an ability. Time spent in Paris had occurred so many years ago that it was almost not worth remembering... almost.

Carrying a paper grocery bag in his left arm, Paul glanced over the headlines of the newspaper in his right hand as he walked down the side walk. The picture of young woman spouting flames from her hands was impressive though the article itself was trash. Why did every article seem to have such an anti-mutant agenda? He was half tempted to just toss the paper in the next trash can he walked by but ultimately decided against it. After all, he hadn't had a chance to read the comics or do the cross word puzzle yet.

Folding up the paper, Paul placed it on the top of his shopping bag and returned to enjoying his day. The bright California sun shone down over the area, warming both the side walk and the beach that was only 40 or 50 yards away. Men, women, and children covered the sand, relaxing and playing as most everyone was apt to do. There was just something about the beach that let people drop their guard at least for a few moments. That was probably the reason Paul had decided to rent this beach front cottage. Even though it had been almost 30 years since Ashley's death and 3 years since his own passing, he still felt like he had been carrying a burden for a long time. This years he was trying to take a step in the right direction and the cottage was part of it. Reaching the steps, Paul quickly moved up them and through the door that he had left unlocked. He had only been going down the block after all and he didn't exactly keep any expensive possessions. In fact, the cottage had a very minimalistic feel to it. Other than the necessary furnishings there was nothing. The only decoration was the open windows that looked out on the beach.

Setting the grocery bag on the kitchen counter, Paul went about unloading his dinner for the evening. A nice bottle of Chianti Classico followed by some jarred tomato sauce and a box of dry pasta. Spaghetti wasn't exactly a high class meal but it was filling and was much improved by the glass of expensive wine that would go along with it. As he put a pot of water on the stove to begin heating, Paul was already lining out his evening. After a nice relaxing dinner he would head out for an evening jog and then maybe he would sit on the porch with another glass or two of wine while he looked at the stars. Relaxing was the order of the evening with absolutely no interruptions allowed.

The hammer dropped the day “Mutants” made the front page, T.A.T. job for the longest time was to make sure all the humans thought it was just them, they were the end of the evolutionary chain, it was what they liked what they knew, which usually spelt trouble. Sam’s head was still ringing from the ‘meeting’ he had recently it was more of a chewing out with a mix of high voltage; Sam hated it when they mixed in the voltage.

However, it was what he and other agents were trained for and according to whoever was pulling the strings they had failed. Which Sam knew not to be true they just didn’t have enough information or enough men to silence everyone. Still Sam’s purpose still remained the same however his job was to bring in mutants that were dangerous or deemed useful.

Useful didn’t describe the supposed mutant he was tracking now, someone that has been seen for years with no signs of aging. Agent Jackson made it clear what he wanted, hard proof that the man didn’t age and then to bring him in by any means necessary, if he didn’t age maybe he didn’t get injured.

A pair of ice blue eyes fixed on the man he had been tracking for about an hour now, he was out of sight for the most part and when the target entered his house Sam strolled by on a skateboard pretending to be like every other kid his age, young naive and without a care in the world except attention from the opposite sex. The last one was true but the others were the exact opposite. He had a purpose and his target was Paul McCoy.

Passing the house Sam rounded the corner away from the targets house and entered a building where a makeshift crows nest was set up that would make Oswald jealous. Looking through the scope Sam could see both the front entrance and back entrance that lead to the beach though the front entrance was in perfect view the only thing he couldn’t see from the back entrance was the door and part of the patio but that didn’t matter much, it covered the two points of entry and a few of the larger windows branching the gap form each door.

His finger was off the trigger however, Sam hated guns, effective yes but it made everything far more messy not to mention the sound would notify someone where he was and after the news reports (despite how trashy the articles were) the last thing he wanted to do was end up in the papers in any capacity.

Adjusting the scope on the rifle Sam turned it slightly to the beach Sam grinned slightly and abandoned the gun for a pair of special ops binoculars instead of finding his target he zoomed on another target one with slender legs and a purple bottom. His eyes looked trough the tubes as he zoomed in and looked up to the face she was by his definition a hottie. Sam smiled slightly and licked his teeth slightly his thoughts racing as he locked on the beach babe it was clear she was older than Amanda the body was way more… developed…

Seconds passed and then minutes and his thoughts quickly snapped to attention, if he was working with anyone on this mission he would have gotten yelled at. Amanda would have hit him, hard. Sam blinked once and turned the binoculars back to the targets house knowing the beach babes would still be around the next day but tonight, tonight was the night he was going to make his move on Paul McCoy.

Things were going smoothly. While sipping at a glass of wine Paul had cooked his pasta to a perfect al dente. Immediately he had drained it and then dumped it into a pan along with the tomato sauce. After mixing them and allowing a a few minutes for them to cook together he had served himself and moved over to the table.

The sound of the sea birds and the gentle lapping of the waves was the only sound but it made for a very relaxing sound track. Less than half an hour later Paul had finished eating the small portion of pasta and sauce, cleaned the kitchen, and changed into sneakers, jogging shorts, and a gray sweat shirt. It was his normal jogging attire and made sense for the beach. Even though it go hot during the day, the evening breeze could have a bit of a chill.

Once out on the sand, Paul took a few moments to stretch and also flirt with a very attractive woman in a purple bikini. If she was still here when he got back from his jog then he might have to see if anything else would develop but if not then it was OK. He had long ago learned to keep his hormones in check... it was a necessity for such a long life.

***

The damp sand churned under his shoes as his long stride ate up the distance. His pace was a comfortable one that he could maintain for quite a length of time but it was far from his top speed. This evening it wasn't about exhausting himself but simply relaxing. With the house no far away it was time for a cool down. Slowing his pace down to a walk, Paul glanced around the beach for any signs of the iridescent purple wearing beauty that had caught his eye earlier. With the almost empty beach it would have been impossible to miss and he didn't see anything.

Feeling just a touch of regret, Paul turned and walked back toward his house when suddenly he began to smile. There was a piece of paper tucked in his door and when he walked over to it he found a phone number, the name of a popular night club, and a three hour range of time.

"Maybe a night at home is over rated..." Paul chuckled softly as he opened the door and headed into the house. Already he was wondering just what the woman might be wearing to go clubbing. Perhaps some other little purple ensemble?