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Lumen accepted the file and started pawing through it. Jorge had one hell of a poker face, she wasn't sure if she was winning him over or totally blowing her off here. She checked out the image of the shop Future Sight "Some sort of psychic place or whatever?" she asked pulling it out and looking at it. "That's a strange connection indeed." she held it up to the light as if some new evidence might magically shine through but saw nothing of too much interest.

Next she looked at the other crime scene photos and Jorge mentioned a unicorn man. "A mutant." she almost spat the word. Of course, it was a mutant. "So I guess this all being masterminded by some angry human is out of the question then." she leaned back in her chair. "Strange mutation, a horn on someone's head. Do you think that's all there is to it? His powers... I mean." she asked imagining a person growing up with a horn. She sincerely hoped he wasn't born that way.

"If it's all being led by a mutant... he may very well be the line connecting the dots." that much was obvious but it was a matter of finding proof. "How elusive is he? Has anyone pegged him for questioning yet?"

Lumen wasnt asking any more like a PI interested in taking the job. She was feeling ruthless with her sleuthing. This issue was starting to hit home and she was reminded more and more of her brother every day with every new piece of information. If some sick psycho mutant was recruiting kids, or worse yet brain washing them, she wanted to be part of the team that brought him down. "I'm going to level with you here detective. I want in"

Ah, Lumen was liking Jorge already. A man who got down to business and wasn't hard on the eyes either. She gave a curt nod. "My employer forwarded me as much of the public information as possible, I'd already been following the news reports but I know you're trying to stagger the information as it comes out to the press so I've been reading between the lines." She reached down into the shoulder bag on her right pulling out the rest of the documents and newspaper clippings and placing them on the table. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel a headache coming.

"There's been many well documented cases around the globe of young MIA mutants..." the many excuses the cops had given her family about her brother's disappearance rolled through her memory. "..but none of them have been happening in such a fast past manner of time." she pulled out a chart she'd created knowing the detective already had access to the same information but it was good to show him she was able to figure out these things too. Without being on the other side of the cop car either.

"Last month alone the numbers seem to have peeked, we're looking at teens and kids." she pointed. "I know there's a mutant school here, has anyone checked into the possibility of some sort of recruitment going on there?" she asked "Their numbers seem to have been increasing lately too - quite exponentially since the mutant registration camps a few years ago." Lumen had followed the news on that in much terror.

"...anyway... that's just one of the many avenues I'd like to explore that are easier done by a PI than a cop. When a cop shows up many teens get defensive especially if they've had a... sorted... past." she explained. "I can get into places, legally, that you can't without a warrant as well. You'll see I've got an excellent track record for closed cases and sticking by the book. Of the police cases I've been involved with I've had a success rate of 89% with about 96% of evidence I've provided going to trial and staying legitimate. I'm very thorough."

She leaned back in her chair. Lumen wasn't bragging, she was matter o fact about these things. "Of course, Im much interested in the recent leads you may be following, whatever you're at leave to discuss." she picked up the cup and sipped the last of her hot chocolate and looked up at him over the feathery eye lashes.

Lumen was lost in a memory of her brother when the man stepped in through the door. He wasn't dressed like a cop but Lumen could recognize 'cop swagger' any day of the week. This particular man carried himself with authority. She cleared her throat stood up and took a step toward him.

"Detective Cervantes?" she asked holding out a dainty pale hand to shake as a greeting completely forgetting to keep her accent in check. Sometimes, she thought she was banjaxed. She'd have to spend some serious amount of time watching a little American TV and practising to get it down.

"I'm Lumen." she gave a half smile, purple eyes peering at him curiously. He didn't look like a mutant. But neither did half the mutants she'd ever met- herself included. She wondered. It would make sense if he was to be working in this department. She wondered how the NYC treated mutants and if it was anything like back home. She made a mental note to do some 'investigating' of her own on Mr Jorge Cervantes. "There's a table here." she motioned not leaving much room for idle chit-chat. Lumen was a do-er after all.

She sat herself down and folded the newspaper. She laid her cellphone on the table, got out her note book and pen and unfolded the few pieces of paper she had with information that had been forwarded to her. "Seems like New York is in a desperate state these days." she commented toward the front page of the folded newspaper. "Though, it's comforting to know there's a specialized mutant crime unit."

"Jorge" Lumen tried testing out the name struggling with the J feeling like it came out too much like a G. She'd been working on toning back her accent since coming to NYC. Clients would ask all sorts of annoying questions when they noticed the Irish flare and some weren't too fond of immigrants with the recession these days. She thought that was ridiculous but none the less tested the name out a few more times.

Lumen was sitting at the window table of a coffee shop close to the hotel. It was a nice place, surprisingly laid back for NYC. The tables were small and decorated bohemian style and the lights were low. Lots of fake foliage with little blinking Christmas lights snaked against the walls and the place smelled like cinnamon.

She wasn't much of a coffee drinker so she sat at the table with the newspaper spread out in front of her sipping a hot chocolate. Her long platinum hair was pulled back into a tight braid. She always looked her age with the hair pulled back and came off more professional so she made a point of doing it for every meeting. She was dressed semi-casual in dark grey knit pants, a soft violet top, and opened matching grey sweater. She didnt wear much makeup- only a bit of powder to tone down the glow in her cheeks that was maybe perhaps just a little more than the glow of an average girl.

She was drumming her fingers against the table while scrolling through her phone in the other hand. Every time the little bell chimed as the door opened she looked up. She had no idea what Jorge looked like but apparently her latest consulting company had forwarded her information and ID photo to the office she'd be paired with.

Once Jorge arrived she was expecting him to discuss as much of the case as was permitted but part of her wondered if it might not also be a bit of a hidden interview. She hasn't been contracted yet, this was just a consultation. True- it paid a nice deposit into her savings account (that apartment couldn't come fast enough) but at the end of the day if she wasn't careful the NYPD may never come calling again. She wanted in on this case and she'd already scheduled several meetings this week with parents of MIA kids.

Lumen's cell phone flashed the email from the firm telling her a bit about the Mutant Crimes Division but she'd already read it. Just like she'd already read the article on the paper in front of her about the mutant with apparent telekinesis who robbed a bank up-state. That article- the one she was reading over again now for the 4th time imagining her brother as a bank robber.

She sipped the hot chocolate again checking her watch. She was still early but Lumen always felt like she was running out of time.

that would be lovely We could do a thread where they already know they're meeting to discuss Lumen being a potential outside specialist. Perhaps Jorge could interview her, or we could assume she's already been contracted and he's her first meeting, or we could do something a little more informal and just spontaneously meet each other. let me know your preference and I'd be happy to start

Lumen had just gotten herself back into a rhythmic stride when the red haired woman replied that she'd been running now and again. What kind of answer was that?

"The news!" she blurted "That's where I saw you, that little segment, only saw it twice though." She'd spent the whole time the red-head was speaking trying to place her. Lumen didn't have a photographic memory or anything but she was good at finding people and it was easier for her than most to call up someone's face in her own mind.

Her run wavered a bit as she tried to regain focus and process what the woman had said. Nothing was hurting now thanks to the adrenaline, but it could seriously mess up your sense of time. She was starting to fall back. With her brows knitted into a tight focus she gave another shove to get herself near parallel with the woman again. "I try to run every day..." she said struggling to keep her breath and her accent in check. The truth was, she ran an awful lot at night with an awful lack of focus and an awful lot of get me the heck outta here. "I dont remember when I started, first time in Central Park though. Not as green as I thought it be." The Irish accent leaked out on that one. (she tried to keep it in check since many Americans weren't too fond of hiring immigrants in her field)

With the stark contrast of her companions red hair the grass suddenly looked a lot greener. And something else looked different- mainly the hat. It was moving. At least, she thought it was. It was hard to get a good glance at it while keeping an eye out for the other joggers and runners who were starting to pour out onto the running trail.

Oh yeah and that whole adrenaline wall was fading. The post adrenaline wall was coming up fast and she could feel herself getting a little light headed. She was determined not to lose the woman though. If she was the woman from the news it might benefit Lumen to know her. Maybe somewhere down the road they could exchange information- it had worked well for a reporter she knew back home. Or maybe the woman would have some inside knowledge about the missing children. Not that Lumen was very interested in breaching that subject so early in the morning. Today her stubborn need to know everything was winning out over her stubborn paranoia.

She stole a glance and tried to smile to her left when she saw the hat thing- which she could now see was metal- braiding itself into the woman's hair? Was that right? She blinked and stared for a moment not realizing how close her feet were getting to the grass while the trail bent a bit. She stumbled but caught herself without missing a beat hoping the woman didn't notice, but knowing she probably did. "Wot have yea got on yer head?" she finally asked with a curious (yet cautious) expression and no more effort to hide her accent.