Hero Evolution

November 22^nd, 3:30 pm (The next day)
San Francisco Police Department

  The cool, gray walls of the room were contrasted only by the shimmering mirror against the far side. In the center of the room was a firm but very plain wooden table and set of chairs. The uniformed officer stood at the door in silence. His hands were clasped firmly at his waist and a watchful gaze was kept on the girl sitting in the chair she had been cuffed to, in the center of the room.

She wasn't going to move, save for the now-and-then trial tug of the cuffs about her forearms. Slightly pulling with her wrists, testing them, as if they were supposed to magically loosen sometime without her knowing about it. Her eyes never meet the mirror. However, an occasional glare was sent the officer's way as if she were going to place some kind of hex on him; she noted the look of discomfort and smiled.

She was gypsy, but young. Fidgeting slightly, her diklo - a heavy, weighted scarf often used as a whipping weapon - was coming slightly loose over the cargo pants she wore. The coins attached to the material made jingling sounds when she shifted her weight. Eventually, she made herself still all together, after about ten minutes in that room. Emerald eyes fixated on the table top; 'this is going to be interesting,' she mused to herself.

The frosted glass of the interrogation room door was shadowed over by a figure, briefly. A few mumbled words followed, muffled through the wall. The figure outside lifted a hand, motioning another figure away from the door, probably a guard. Three quick knocks followed and without hesitation, the uniformed Officer turned, opened the door and stepped out.

Replacing the Officer was Reno Nevada. Suave, debonair, young and good looking; all things most cops simply were not. The case file was unfolded in both his hands, his eyes lowering to stare down at the arrest warrant. The manila folder was closed up, his head turning back to the SFPD officer... Reno smiled slightly.

"Why don'tcha go get a coffee, take a break," Reno said, slapping the folder against the officer's shoulder softly. The man in blue turned without argument and walked out of the room, shutting the frosted glass, wooden door behind himself.

Nevada glanced back towards the girl once again. His jaws clenched, working a piece of Juicy Fruit gum between his molars. In contrast, Nevada wore a black suit with a dark purple silk shirt, with one of those retro style collars. A polished gold badge dangled from around his neck, just at his sternum level. The word "INSPECTOR" was inscribed in bold black letters across the metal.

The gypsy's head lifted up from the table top. She cut her gaze to the door then back to the Police Pimp. 'Great! Now the fun begins,' she thought to herself. He'd wind up asking her a million questions that she understood, and she'd just play the dumb foreigner girl and pretend not to understand. Yes, fun times. Too bad there wasn't a Romanian linguist around that might be able to help him out. She smirked, watching him, her eyes never once looking at the folder that was placed on the tabletop. The girl wondered to herself if she should say something to him. No doubt there would be people on the other side of that mirror, listening in, taking notes of what she said or did.

Heck, maybe there was even a camera or something. This was going to be fun, watching him try to get information from her. Was he a good cop or a bad cop? Someone as good looking as that couldn't be so bad, but then again, she wasn't half bad either. And she was still growing. Youthful appearance, yes she had that, but she reminded herself that looks could be deceiving.

Reno approached the table and placed his own folder down in front of his chair, which was directly across from her. The chair screeched as the legs dragged against the concrete flooring then he stepped in front of it and settled down. His hand slipped into his jacket and from the inside breast pocket, he retrieved a pack of gum and held it out to her. There was only one stick left.

"Gum?" Of course, he purposely neglected the fact that her hands were cuffed to the chair's arms.

'Of course,' she thought, flinching at the sound of the screech. Her ears didn't exactly like that sound. Oh well, it was over and he was sitting; not very much eye level, but closer than it had been when he was standing. Her eyes followed the Inspector, her hazel hues making note of every move he made. She leaned back into her chair, fingertips tapping against the edge of its armrests.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust and stuck her tongue out a bit, before shaking her head 'no' and letting her gaze simply return from the gum back to the man in front of her. Reno simply shrugged his shoulders... more for him, then. However, in the meantime, he placed the nearly empty pack down on the table, with the stick pointing straight at her.

Business time... His hands reached for the folder that was resting on the table, gathering both the one he'd brought and the one that was sitting on the table in front of her since before his arrival. Both were flipped open and he reached into the second of the two and pulled out the arrest warrant. With a smile, he placed the folders back on the table and put the warrant directly atop of them so she could see it.

"Let's get to the point shall we," he started. "I know you can understand English. Let's call it a hunch. I believe you can speak it just as well as you do that… gibberish you were using on the other cops." Reno paused to smile and nod towards the gum. She seemed to ignore the gesture and so he continued.

"Hell, it's not like you're speaking Spanish, where every other guy who owns a grocery store would understand you. Fact is," he continued, "if I walked into this city speaking some exotic language that NO ONE knows but my three friends here," on which his finger came to point at a photo next to her arrest warrant... The photo was of a crime scene displaying three ritualistically carved murder victims, "I'd have a hell of a time getting by." She didn't reply to his words. In fact, she looked dumbfounded, acting as if she didn't understand a word he said. She had that lost look in her eyes.

"But that's just how I think," Reno added. He paused again, looking back down to the murderer photo, thoughtfully. Then his head raised once more, going on, "Frankly, I don't give a damn whether you speak English, French, Spanish, German or whatever that was you were spouting to the other officers. You don't need to talk, you only need to listen," he explained.

She wasn't the best at lying but she could pull it off better with people she didn't know. He could probably see right through that, so when he started talking more, she just righted herself, back straight and pretended she was listening, when in reality her mind went wandering elsewhere. She began to turn her thoughts to different things; birds in the sky, what sort of termites may have been hiding in the station floorboards... Butterflies - she'd seen one on the way in earlier. Or... hmm.

As he spoke, he began tapping the pictures of the three dead victims again. She tensed a bit. She couldn't believe he would show her that picture! What a stupid cop... She was going to get upset, for sure... Hell, she was still pissed off that the ADA allowed the M.E. to mutilate their bodies without her consent. She was going to make them pay for that somehow. She half-wondered how much she could get out of the city for it. Reno had her attention now, but she half-hoped he didn't expect her to respond... that wasn't happening.

"See this?" Reno said, turning a piece of paper around with the text facing her. She looked down at it uncomprehendingly as the page was pushed in front of her.

"This," Nevada continued, "is a warrant for your arrest. For obstruction of justice. This will put you in jail. I know you haven't been to jail in America, your prints would have told us that. So, let me enlighten you: You know what they do to you at women's prison? They rape you with broom handles." Again, Reno Nevada paused for dramatic effect. He'd let that image soak into her pretty sky with the birdies and butterflies or whatever it was she was apparently thinking about.

Jail time... jail time. She couldn't afford that. The Baba! The Camp! Great, this wasn't what she needed. She held a straight face the whole time right up until he started talking about women raping her with broom sticks. 'Ha! That'd be the day. It would only take one cursing word to any of those dykes and I'd be left alone. The evil eye is a powerful tool, not to be taken lightly and is something I'd use if necessary. Especially if this guy doesn't let me go soon.' The gypsy offered a smirk at his words, tilting her head a bit as if mocking him in some fashion.

"But," Reno finally said. "But, I can tear this up right now and you will be free to go. All you need to do is tell me what you know about the murders. And I don't mean in that babbling language. I only speak two languages: English and bad English. Pick one, tell me what happened, and you can go back to doing whatever it is you do. It's obvious you care for these victims. Perhaps they were related to you? Siblings maybe? So it just boggles my mind that you do not want to help me find out who did this." He leaned back in the chair, the old wooden frame stretching and creaking a bit from the shift in weight.

This was just great. She watched him for the moment in disbelief. This was not going how she thought it would. 'Blackmail? What is this guy's frickin' deal?'

"Isn't black mail illegal... in the States?" Her voice was low, husky. Had to be, from that harsh language, yet because of her thick accent, it was almost sultry in a devious, sexy kind of way. "I thought... that it was." An offered smirk followed. She leaned back in her own chair, left leg crossing over the right, triggering the dangle of coins attached to the diklo, sounding lightly against her leg and the leg of the chair.

"Then again," she continued quietly, "cops can get away with anything these days. You remove any recollection of me ever being here, papers, videos, tapes; everything. I'll tell you what you need to know, yes?"

Reno rubbed the bottom of his chin gently. 'Something is oddly familiar about this woman. What was it... what... what, OH! Oh yes! Hunchback of Notre Dame! The cute little girl character that ran around with the protagonist.' Reno lowered his eyes then lifted them. Her words brought a sly smirk to his lips. 'One point for Reno Nevada: she spoke.' He leaned forward, placing the arrest warrant back atop the crime scene photo and resealed the folder.

"My dear," Reno began with an exaggerated fake sigh, "It's only illegal when you, yourself, haven't broken the law. And in this case? You have. Three dead bodies, slain, in my park, in my city; it makes me a very unhappy man. In fact, we've had a string of these odd little murders lately. Men in black flak jackets. The two cops earlier this month? A woman at Her parents' grave" He tightened his jaw then took a slow breath and continued, "Not to mention that weird mutated virus strain that people have been talking about. Lot of bodies everywhere for no reason. Someone's making a mess in my yard, and I don't like that." He paused and her request was given a moment's thought then quickly forgotten. 'Obviously, I couldn't do that,' he thought to himself.

Reno then leaned forward, preparing to explain just why his hands were tied, "As for erasing all of your records, I can't do it. If you give me information, which then leads me to whoever did this, I can charge that person. I would not have a reason for finding him... or her without whatever you have to say. I have to have a chain of evidence leading from one to the other. Now, if you're comfortable with your friends being ritualistically murdered, then that's fine by me. But I know you didn't like the medical officer doing the autopsy, so I have a hard time believing that you aren't pissed that someone took their time carving these odd designs into your pal's corpses." What a mouthful to say, but say it he did.

The gypsy girl shook her head, almost chuckling, "Not your city, I'm afraid. You just work in it. You're a slave to it. The city is your Master and you follow what it wants you to follow. You see what it wants you to see," she said, speaking of the city as if it were a living thing. Like it had a reason and conscious thought.

"Tut Gajo shanglo. Gen hunika," she said with a smirk. Her eyes somewhat level with his own, now. She was shorter so that was to be expected. "You don't get rid of my ever being here, your making records of me, then you don't get to know anything. I've... just... developed a case of... amnesia." She smiled. "I listened to your silly foolishness," Abby said. Her fingertips tapped on the edge of her chair. She shifted her wrists, pulled the handcuffs along the length of the chairs arms and sighed. His comment about the M.E. taking apart her family's bodies like that... "Oh yes," she said, "Thank you for reminding me. I'd like to press charges against the city for defiling the bodies of those three victims against the wishes of their guardian."

Her little rant brought a smile to Reno's face. He hooked his right arm over the back of his chair, in a quasi-lounge position, replying to her with a smile. "Hmm… Ya' think? Well now... Now I have to change all my business cards from 'King of the World' to 'Slave of Society'." A few moments were taken to work that piece of gum between his back teeth, then he leaned forward once again. Reno paused for dramatic effect.

"You can't, lady." The Inspector yawned then started chewing his gum again. They held a stair-down then he explained, "You have shown no proof whatsoever to having any blood relation to those three victims." 'Hah! Let her sit on that one.' "When you hide who you are, your options dwindle rather quickly. Frankly, I don't give a shit if you want me to make you disappear. Maybe if you actually explained to me why you want to be removed from the records, perhaps then I can help you out. Till then? You're shit out of luck and we're going to just sit here until you tell me something. And I've got nothing but time."

"You want to know about the bodies? Fine," she spat back, "You tell whoever or whatever is behind that mirror that this stays between you and me, and I'll talk. Otherwise, no go. And not here either. You let me out of these cuffs, saying you can help, I'll trust you. But then you've got to trust me," she said, her voice stern and serious.

"Inspector, it isn't something my people normally do, but you seem cocky enough to actually be able to help me out." 'Maybe even provide some kind of protection for The Seeds... Simple gaje like this man would never be able to withstand the power they held, but perhaps he could provide protection for the gypsy that held them.' She pondered her options. Abby perked with a fresh new thought on the matter.

"Maybe we could go to the park," she said with a thoughtful smile, "no records and no cameras. Just you, your badge and gun… and me. It's the best I'll offer."

The inspector smiled. "Well, how about that? Progress." Reno leaned back against the backrest of the chair, hooking his arm back over the top of the seat once more. "You tell me why it must be that way and I'll say yes." There, simple as that.

"Because, I don't trust you right now," she said. Her accented voice was level and almost void of any kind of emotion. She watched him closely, uncrossing her legs, causing the flop of her sandals to be heard underneath the table.

"One condition," uttered softly. 'What is she so afraid of? Maybe this little trip to the park will do the trick.' He stood up from the chair. It caused that screech against the floor once more, filling the room. "You stay handcuffed to me until we are finished. And that is NOT a request." He moved around the table to stand beside her and folded his arms to see how she'd reply.

"Deal." 'Hell, it's better than nothing,' she mused to herself. "But only if you have those fluffy padded ones?" She grinned, wanting to be mean but teasing at the same time. A smirk followed as she waited for him to remove the cuffs. Her wrists ached. Her legs ached. She shuffled her feet around on the floor in anticipation.

Reno's hand reached down to his waist, sliding back along his belt until it came to the cuff/clip case held against the small of his back. When his hand returned, he held a small silver key between his fingers. Nevada unlocked her left wrist, and then he moved around her chair. The cuff hooked to the armrest was undone and quickly snapped about his wrist. His hand dropped back down behind him, returning the key into the small pocket in the cuff holster. With a slight grin, he snapped the metal button shut.

The Inspector raised his eyes and, with his free hand, he signaled the watchers behind the mirror to turn off the equipment. The girl slowly stood up and allowed her left hand to move across her body to her right. With a frown, she rubbed her still-cuffed wrist. Abby offered a soft sigh and a wince then side-stepped the chair and waited for his move. Her right hand tugged to his left, it seemed backwards to her. Unless they were walking?

"Inspector, you need to switch it to my left, to your right, if you're going to be driving." Did she just want another chance to get away? No, not in a police department. Reno, in reply, gave a tug at his left wrist and smiled.

'Fat chance, girl. I'm right handed and I shoot with my right hand.' Nevada licked his lips then shook his head. "Drive? In midday traffic? Are you nuts?" He simply smiled and tugged her towards the door, "We'll take the trolley." His free hand reached up to his face, rubbing his right handed index over the 'five o'clock shadow' of whiskers, which had built up. "Let's get this over with so I can have a nap. I'm off tomorrow and I want to stay up late tonight and watch Battlestar Gallactica on NetFlix. I'm half-way through season four. C'mon."

The gypsy, on the other hand, wrinkled her nose in disgust again. "Blah, I hate the trolley." She gave a shrug. Reno thought she was being cute, if anything. But his mind quickly turned away from any measure of interest in her, remembering his fiancée, Nichole. His thoughts were interrupted by the woman's voice, once more. "You know, if we're going to be attached like this, I should at least know your first name, right?"

"Well, my last name is Nevada. My first name is a city in Nevada. You figure it out, young lady, but for now? For you? My first name is Inspector." He probably came off a little curt, but then again, this was highly against procedure. Lucky for her the pressure was coming down like a two-ton brick to solve this mess. "Now, you walk just ahead of me, to my side, so that you're always in my sight. You drop back and I'll yank you forward, got it?"

"Inspector? Hmm, interesting name. Actually, I think it suites you," she said, sticking her tongue out at him again. 'This... this is the guy? By God, I think it IS the guy that demon mentioned.' With that, she started for the door then paused. She looked at him with a little smile. "Gonna open the door for a lady?" She didn't expect him to. Hell, she expected some half assed remark from him, both her free left hand and his free right hand went for the door knob simultaneously; both paused to steal a glance at one another. She snatched the door open and led him out into the hallway.

"Fact is, I would have opened it for you, without you even needing to say something about it, but you never gave me the chance." 'Now to head downtown, to the scene of the crime at The Golden Gate Park and get to the bottom of this mess.' Work helped him put Nichole Marie's death behind him. If he let his thoughts turn back to that subject, he slipped into a state of depression. It's why Sanders was hard on him, to help him get through the bad times. Reno took a deep breath and nodded. They began walking up the hallway towards the back exit on the east side of the building.

November 22^nd… 4pm
San Francisco, California

  Sinopa Crevan tilted her head. Her left ear flickered listlessly, teasing the strawberry locks of her hair. She turned to Jules and asked, "Did you hear that noise?" The kitsune placed her abruaage onto a plate adjacent to a bowl of miso soup.

"Reckon I've not heard such, chérie. What'cha hear?"

She crossed the hotel room and placed the side of her head against the door. "Perhaps it was nothing but it sounded like…"

A clatter of dishes came from out in the hallway. Sinopa opened the door and peered into the corridor then blinked in surprise. A room service cart lay on its side and another cart with bath towels appeared crooked further up the hallway. She glanced back the other direction and saw two boyish types, looking around frantically. Crevan peered back into her room and said, "Jules-san, stay and wait by the phone. If anything serious happens, call the inspector from the business card."

"Reno Nevada, darlin'. Hard to forget'a name like tha'."

"Yes, that's the one," she replied with a firm nod. Sinopa stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind herself. She glanced back at the two carts then headed towards the two frantic gentlemen. Her eyes danced between the white one and the black one, curiosity shining in her amber gaze. "Boys, what seems to be the trouble?"

"Quick, get back into your room," said the white one. "We'll handle this guy."

The other said, "Johann, if this is what Falcon is using for help, now, then we're in over our heads."

"Yeah, I know right?" The one called 'Johann' by his friend turned back to Sinopa and added, "Really, miss, you should go back to your room quickly. It's not safe."

The door to the stairwell at the far end, behind the two boys, blew off its hinges. A tall man walked in and turned to face the two. "You stupid kids wiped out my team. Those four men are trained to fight people like you and you made them look like fools!"

"I don't know, Evan, I've never fought another person with abilities before. This guy is no joke." They began to back away, heading towards Sinopa.

She shut the door to her room and moved towards them. "Who is this man?" she asked of nobody in particular.

The man at the end of the hall said, "Lady, this doesn't concern you. Take a hike."

"I'm prepared to make it my concern. What did these boys do to you?"

He closed his hands into fists. "They took down my team. We're trained to hunt people like these two, now take a hike."

"Madam, please," said the black one, dubbed 'Evan' by his friend. "You really should leave so you aren't hurt."

"I doubt very much anyone will hurt me," said Sinopa. She pushed between the boys and stood in front of them. "They're terrified of you and they have innocent souls. But your aura tells another story. It's laced with black veins of corruption and murder. Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. You can die with them if you wish." He began a slow approach with a sardonic smirk.

"It's not working," Evan said. "I can't do anything to him. If I can't turn anything to glass, we can't escape. Is that his ability?"

"Yeah," said Johann, panting. "I… I think."

"You're going to hyperventilate, calm down, Jay."

"I can't help it. This guy is going to kill us." He opened and closed his hands quickly. "I can't use my abilities. I think that's his power, he blocks ours when in… range… I'm too damn young to die."

"Get a grip."

The woman folded her arms across her chest, standing between everyone in an American sundress. She glared at the approaching man. "My name is Sinopa Crevan – while that may mean nothing to you, trust me when I say that it will be the last name you hear spoken if you continue to approach."

Johann's eyes widened. He turned to Evan and hissed a whisper of relieved tone, "Karla mentioned her! Last October! Said she was, like, Asian decent or something." He cleared his throat then, addressing the woman in front of him, said, "Abilities don't work against this guy."

"Oh?" Sinopa grinned back at the boys. "If that were true, I would look very different than you see me right now."

The man in front of her clenched his hand into a fist. "Is that so? What's your power, woman?"

She placed her hands upon her hips. "It doesn't concern you. As the saying in this country goes… you should take… a hike."

He drew his fist back then swung at her. Sinopa's head jerked to the left, taking the blunt of his strike. Her hair flung forward, half covering her face and she took a half-step backwards, opening her stance to maintain her balance. She lifted her head, slowly, glaring at him through the hair that now covered her face. "You'll regret striking someone like me."

She lifted her right hand and touched his left cheek. His face began to melt – the man cried out but his shout was above his vocal register, coming out as a whiney breath of air. His voiceless whimper caused him to shy back, covering his face with both hands. He gasped then, in a shocked, frantic voice, asked, "Who the hell are you?!"

"Sinopa Crevan. I'm afraid your ability only works on human genetics." She leaned over him and held her hand out, palm up. The hallway glowed with the light of a fireball that hovered over her fingertips. "You've proven yourself the ultimate bully – looking to kill but afraid for his life once receiving a simple black eye. I will not tolerate your actions. I heard one of the boys mention Falcon. Do you work for him?"

"Yes, yes I work for him! You burned my goddamned face you freak!"

"Do not whine. This was a lesson of humility. This man, Falcon, has stolen something of importance from Japan, my home. You will take me to him so that I can retrieve this artifact and return it to the shrine from which it was taken. Get up."

"I can't!"

"You can't get up?" she exclaimed with an incredulous disposition.

"I can't take you to the stupid artifacts! Doctor Falcon has had them moved and no one knows where they are! I’m a prototype that is protected from people with abilities. But those two boys slaughtered my team!"

She glanced back at Johann and Evan then turned to the man once more. "They've never murdered. I would see it on their soul. They've defended themselves and defended others, which is a matter of the highest honor where I am from. Take me to Doctor Falcon. Now."

"I can't! He's not even in San Francisco right now!"

"That is a shame," she said with a thoughtful frown. "So you hunt people like these boys? Look at them!" The man kept his face down. Sinopa reached for his chin but he shied away. She closed her fingers in his hair and forced his head up. "I said LOOK at them!"

Johann and Evan cringed at the sight of his nearly-exposed cheekbone.

Sinopa leaned forward and told the attacker, "They're boys. Not even fully grown! Is that what you do? You chase down children? These boys have more honor than you could possibly understand. Look at you, flailing around with murder in your eyes, hate in your heart and only concerned about yourself. Despicable. You do this for MONEY. You're no better than Kazusa and Miura, calling yourself a hero so long as your price is met."

Evan's eyes widened. He reached for Johann's arm, tugging on his friend's shirt. "Jay, look at her shoes."

Johann glanced down at the hem of the sundress then blinked. He lifted his eyes, looking over the woman.  She had the man doubled over, speaking to him in an admonishing tone.  Foster’s eyes returned to the hem of her dress. "Tails?" he whispered back.

"Oh my God, she's a kitsune," said Evan, pronouncing the word, 'Kit soon.' "She's got the fire, the tails and the red hair. She said she was from Japan. Holy crap, dude, she's a kitsune. Wow. I wonder if she’s a tenko."

Sinopa's ears flickered in her hair and she smirked. She leaned closer to the cowering man and said, "They've heard of me." She pulled the man to his feet and shoved him up against the wall. "Boys, tell them what I am, so that he can hear it."

"She, uh," Evan cleared his throat then continued. "She's called a Kitsune, a Japanese messenger god. One of the daughters of Inari, and, uh, she's a demigod spirit god… uh, what's the word… oh, Kami! She's a Kami and she can apparently control fire. I wouldn't mess with her."

Sinopa smiled brightly. "Thank you, Mister Evan-san. I appreciate your cultural knowledge; no, I am not a tenko… yet. However, I am impressed. Although, it's Keet s'-nay, my good sir." She turned back to the man against the wall and giggled softly then whispered, "He thinks Inari is my daddy. Isn't that cute?" She brought her hand closer to his face again, causing the man to press his uninjured cheek against the wall. Sinopa narrowed her gaze. "Are you afraid? This is how you make your targets feel before you strike them down. Are you familiar with the Indian culture concerning karma?"

"You're… going to kill me?" he murmured in a pitiful voice.

"You're… ah, what is the colloquial euphemism? 'All washed up,' hai?" she said with a shrug then lifted her hand high above her head.

He sank down the wall, kneeling at her feet. She watched the cowering man for a moment then created a ball of fire in her palm once more.

The sprinkler system in the ceiling hissed to life, gushing water over them. An automated fire alarm sounded and an object set into the wall at each end of the hallway flashed brightly. Sinopa smirked as the water caused her hair to come down over her face, no longer hiding the perky triangles of her fox ears.

"Like I said," she trailed off into a chuckle. The kitsune closed her hand into a fist, extinguishing the fireball. She leaned over the man's slumped form again then told him, "You're all washed up. Now go to a hospital. Lie about your injury if you like. Tell them whatever you wish. But go. Whether you live or die from your injuries is in your hands, now." She stepped back from him.

The man crawled away, got to his feet and hurried through the staircase door at the far end.

Jules came from his room and peered into the hallway. "Mon ange, you set off the sprinkler system?" His eyes fell upon the two young males. "Aw, hello gents. I don't suppose you're involved in th' creation of this'ere indoor waterpark." Two other hotel doors opened at the end of the hall and patrons hurried out with their bags packed and made their way to the stairs at the far end of the corridor. Jules stepped out into the hallway. "I suppose the elevators shut off during a fire alarm, oui? What happened?"

Sinopa ran her hands back through her hair, pushing the strands back over her shoulders. "There was a man attacking these boys. He struck me with his fist so I burned him in the same place on his face."

"What?! He hit'cha!?"

"Oh, Jules, I'm fine. I humiliated him then let him run lest his injuries become fatal." She turned to Evan and Johann and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you gentlemen. I'm glad I could help. What are your abilities that he blocked?"

Evan nodded to Johann. "Show her, Jay."

Johann rubbed the water from his face then glanced up at the sprinkler nozzle in the ceiling. A second later the water disappeared. "I turned it to water vapor." The hallway began to grow humid. He paused then the temperature cooled and fog appeared on the floor at their feet. "I can change the molecular structure of stuff."

The thirty-two year old aviator smiled, interested in what he just saw.  "So you can change ice to water, water to gas, and all that stuff?" asked Jules as he approached the boys in the hallway. "Names Jules. Jules Lenis Guillot," he told them, pronouncing his name, "Jewels Leh-nay Gill-oh."

"Johann Foster," said the first boy. "This here is Evan. I'm his sidekick."

Jules chuckled. "Sidekick? You got powers to turn fire into gas then back into fire and you's the sidekick?" He grinned at Evan and said, "Then you must be certifiably badass."

Evan flinched and cleared his throat then offered his hand to the gentleman with the Cajun dialect. "I, uh, not really. I turn things to glass or sand at best. Johann, here, can cause backdrafts and blow up warehouses… way cooler."

"Trust me," said Johann. "I'm the sidekick. He's the hero."

"We're a team," said Evan with a bashful look. "Jay, I'm blushing man. That's not easy for my skin color, heh." Both boys chuckled then turned back to Sinopa. Evan approached her in a reverent manner. "I'm honored to meet you, Kami-sama."

Sinopa grinned over at Jules. "Oh, isn't he cute?" She turned back to Evan and bowed in a traditional manner to better fulfill his expectations. He bowed in return. She smiled and said, "Sinopa will do nicely, Mister Evan-san. You are a courageous hero – both of you – and stood up for your beliefs in the face of death and you wanted to protect me, knowing you couldn't fight him fairly. A hero shouldn't be judged by the successes of his deeds but by the brightness of the courage and honor shining in his heart.  A hero can be trained to greatness, but no amount of training can give courage to a coward.  Your courage is impressive."

Evan appeared to be smiling and blushing.  He was delighted by her words and the fact she was a living breathing fascination of his. "My con-buddies would never believe this." He cleared his throat and added, "I attend otaku conventions. Thee, uh, celebration of Japanese animation and subculture and… yeah. It's a long story. Uhm… Can I treat you to bean curd and rice? I know an awesome sushi place not far from here."

She glanced back at her beau then back to the boys and nodded. "Very well. Let us all go, we can get to know one another better. Perhaps you can help me track down this man, Doctor Aris Falcon. Also, have you boys met a local inspector named Reno Nevada? I'm searching for him."

"I'm afraid not," said Evan. Johann, adjacent to him, shook his head.

"Ah. Well, no matter. Perhaps we should go and find dry clothing first. We'll eventually find Inspector Nevada at some point… I could simply call his business card but it’s not at the top of my list of things to accomplish at the moment.  I’m only just starting to remember the first time I’ve met him in the alley." She motioned for the boys to follow her back to her room. "I wonder, Jules, what our friendly Inspector with the pretty girlfriend is doing… right now."

November 22^nd 4:45pm 
Golden Gate Park…

  The trolley stopped just outside the main entrance of Golden Gate Park. Five or so others disembarked with the two in handcuffs. Reno made sure that she stayed in front of him.

Because it annoyed her to be handcuffed to the lil' jerk, she did her best to keep changing her pace. She occasionally yanked his arm then a few steps later, slowed down so he bumped into her.

She shrugged, "Keep up, Inspector. I don't want to run into the people around us, of course." They moved and weaved their way through the park until they reached the area that was still blocked off by yellow tape. It wouldn't stop people from screwing with that square of ground inside the evidence marking tape but it didn't matter, she knew what happened. Rithis told her what the snake saw. Not that she needed to tell Reno that was her method of being a witness to the crime; let that particular detail be muddled as far as the cops were concerned...

Reno let her tug against the handcuffs until her heart was content. It wasn't the first time Reno'd been handcuffed to a woman. They continued along the path, eventually stepping off the pedestrian trail. The couple made their way to the crime scene, a patch of dirt with the yellow caution tape flitting up and down in the soft breeze.

"All right, start talking. Sooner you finish, sooner you're free to go." Reno didn't like the situation. He made sure to keep his eyes on her, but mainly focused on the peripheral, not wanting another one of her gypsy pals to get the jump on him. Not that they'd get away with it, with the chopper that circled the park every few moments. Reno glanced up to make sure the chopper was there and smiled secretly as it passed over once more...

"First thing," she started, "It wasn't a ritual. They were dead before their bodies were cut up like that. And the scars, been there for years." She shifted her weight, wanting to cross her arms, but she couldn't. Finally, her free hand dipped into her pocket, half-uncovered by the deklo that rested on her waist.

"The creature in the black suit... IT murdered them, so that the act would look like a ritual. Gaje don't like gypsies." Hazel-green eyes lifted up to him, wondering what he'd think about what she'd said so far. She thought about Karla again and pondered telling Reno about the upcoming battle and about the gypsies, who they were, and what their purpose was. She grimaced and decided it would be too far against the rules.

"It? Gaje? What's a gaje?" Reno tilted his head as he asked.

"...IT... was looking for something. And it found a way to get what it was looking for with Zorin, Gunari and Fifika. Gaje...? YOU are gaje." She wanted his detective mind to figure it out. She shifted her weight, moving about the circle of burn holes in the grass, sighing gently. "Will you remove these cuffs for a moment? I won't run."

"No." Simply worded. So, Reno was a gaje. He tried to figure it out in his mind, 'Let's see, I'm Irish. Irish did this? No, no. Besides, she didn't know that I am Irish.' It wasn't like his last name was O'Malley, or something like that. 'All right, so if she's gypsy, and I'm not, maybe gaje is just... everyone else?'

"Are you telling me this was a hate crime?" He glanced around a moment before turning his attention back down to the girl's face... If it was a hate crime, this murder didn't make much sense.

"No, no. Not a hate crime," she sighed. "It'd be too easy if it were that." She pondered how could she explain everything, knowing it would be difficult. Her eyes fluttered shut and she reached for his hand, better concealing the handcuffs linking their wrists. Reno flinched. Finally, he allowed for the touch but it made him uncomfortable. All he could think about was Nicky.

Holding that hand, she turned about to face him, allowing the palm of her free hand to smack against his forehead, using the cuffed hand to pull at him so that she could hit and he wouldn't be able to dodge it. Hopefully.

"Vujo por, Satarma," she uttered under her breath. The girl would use the purity of her blood to help her out on this, it was going to suck. She smiled at the curse, or blessing rather, as it was passed from the magic in her blood into his mundane body. It would only last for a small time, though. 'Stupid gaje and their dull senses.'

Lucky for her it worked. Or he might have shot her. He saw Thinner, that crazy gypsy with the tumor on his face, cursing everyone. He saw Nicky Marie clenching her fists and turning away with a soft frown and, behind her, a man in an all-black suit. He saw things he couldn't explain. The sudden jolt sent him back, right off his feet. Of course, she was yanked down with him, by the cuffs. His eyes closed tight as a massive headache slammed into his frontal lobe.

The chopper above reported over the radio that the inspector was down, and that the girl hit him. Police cars and paramedics were dispatched; estimated time of arrival was in the neighborhood of three minutes.

As for the girl, she expected to fall, so when Reno tumbled, she tried to get her arm under him so that she could try and get those keys out of the cuff holder clipped to the back of his belt. She didn't need to be around him when his mind went wacko. She knew what she did. She knew that he could possibly go nuts from it. It wasn't every day someone's third eye was forced open.

Reno's eyes shut tight... yet... he could see things. His buck-seventy frame yanked her down with considerable force. He groaned long and loud and lifted both hands. Reno reached to his face, cupping his palms over his eyes. Reno's lips curled back, exposing a pain filled snarl.

Abby brought her knee up to his groin. Not that it was on purpose but the way they rolled about, she was trying to turn him over. His thrashing brought a stop to her actions and she let herself fall atop of him. It was a compromising position, to be sure, but he was far too out of his mind to push her away.

"Let me go, you stupid cop!" She didn't like this. She didn't need him lashing out on her while he got used to what she had done to him.

Nevada's eyes peeled open. 'Look at all the pretty colors...?' Bloodshot eyes stared up at her face as she lay upon him. Confusion turned to fear. Fear turned into anger. He used his weight to roll them both over, him now above her, his hand wrapped about her throat. Instincts had him now.

"What... did you do...?" His angry voice, filled with fear and confusion, caused her to flinch. His contorted face stared down at her from above. Sirens became a crescendo, rapidly approaching in the background.

'Fuck', she thought to herself. She winced, being rolled about, huffing faintly as her body started to squirm. She heard the sirens and wide hazel eyes stared up at him, glaring. In the sunlight, they held a greenish tint.

"I opened your mind. You can feel it can't you?" As if he couldn't, "The magic around you? You can almost taste it," she grunted, trying to peel his hands from her throat, wiggling under him. The terrified gypsy despised this feeling of vulnerability.

Suddenly, he let go of her throat, rolling off of her. His right hand came to his chest, sunk down underneath his suit jacket, fingertips searching for the handle of his gun. Abby wanted out of there. She didn't need to be around him as his senses went ablaze. It was like everything was seen with new eyes. The grass was greener, the sky bluer. The trees seemed alive. He could almost feel the life of the insects beneath his body. The sounds of the birds above called a sweet melody of whispers he couldn't really make out. It was everything he was unable to notice before now.

Abby shifted, holding onto her knees. Her left arm was extended out, linked by handcuffs. Emerald-mixed-hazel eyes held a wild gaze. She'd use the Talith, her Diklo, as a weapon to get away from him if she had to. Maybe she could cut off his hand or something; this was all going wrong. Maybe she could tangle him up and get the key, who knows. Anything was better than being here right now.

Every color he saw seemed more vibrant, and there was always something at the corner of his eye, wanting to be seen. Ghostly figures that knew he'd been opened to the world, and they had so many secrets to share. His fingertips found what they searched for, curling around the handle of his gun.

Reno's eyes finally peeled open, revealing an alien sort of world, which looked as if it had been taken from a painting. Bright colors mixed together, forming a sky that seemed to have been brushed by the likes of Monet. The sound of Velcro tearing apart was like a chain saw against his ears, but he pulled the handcuff key instead of his weapon. Her breath caught and shock turned relief, an emotional knot felt in her chest.

Reno saw the man in the black suit stand up over Nicky's slain body. His teeth clenched. The black suit man stepped forward, over Vincent Nevada's lifeless body. Reno ground his teeth together. The man's face came into view and Reno could see it well enough to draw it.

"Go," he demanded, holding the key out to her. It was all he could say.

The gypsy snatched the keys from him. Abby made quick work of the cuffs. She'd never had to do this before, but finally, after a few heartbeats of struggle, she got it down. The cuffs slipped free from her wrists, but she kept the key and left the other cuff on his left wrist. It was going to be interesting, to see what he'd do.

Abby stood up quickly, and ambled back from him. She had made a promise that she wouldn't run and she could see by the lights and sirens that she had to make a choice. She wasn't going to make any of this harder for herself by fleeing, so she just stood there. That was her display of trust for, well, the year. She stood there, a good distance away from him, waiting for everything to come down like a giant curtain.

Reno glanced down to get his bearings, and now found himself staring straight down at the crime scene. Something seemed false about it. There was the hint of death in the air, because of the bodies that were found, but the death seemed to be older than the images of the ritualistic spots.

"Don't fight it," she commanded, "Just let it happen. Let your body get used to it," her accented voice rolled off her tongue like a calm sea. Her voice, soothing to his ears, was like hearing speech for the first time.

Now Reno drew his gun. He pointed the barrel directly at her. "I told you... to GO," he shouted.

"I promised I wouldn't run! You wanted to know, I showed you, dammit!" She stared at him, cringing at the fact that his gun was pointed in her face. The girl retied her diklo about her hips, backing away slowly, repeating herself, "You... wanted to know, I showed you."

"GO! Before they get here," Reno demanded, pulling the hammer back on his pistol. Despite a bit of wavering side to side, the gun was trained, dead-set, upon her forehead. The emergency response vehicles entered the park and drove halfway up the hill. The vehicles came to a stop and officers began to run through the park, through the trees on their way towards the crime scene.

"Presidio National, or... better yet, Pages Lost Night Club in a week, if you have any more questions," she said quietly, speaking the words with perfect enunciation so that he wouldn't make any mistake about what it was she said. With that, she ran. She headed away from the direction of the oncoming squad cars. She was swift, the sounds of the coins on her diklo chiming with her steps, sandals beating the grass blanket with an indescribable sound.

Reno's hand dropped as if it had been holding up heavy weights. His gun fell into the grass and his body rolled over onto his stomach. There he lay, face first, in one of those burnt spots in the soil. His mind suddenly filled with quick snapshots of the crime scene, like a shutter opening and closing. Police and EMT personal ran up the hill, the officers approached with their guns drawn.

Reno could see the park, his eyes were shut and while he could hear the approaching officers, he couldn't see them, just the park. With his eyes tightly shut, he could see the man in black, a sports blazer, maybe, walking towards the three gypsies involved in the murder. They were alive... They were being attacked by the man in the black clothing. Reno couldn't tell the man's skin color anymore – the man was blurry and the focus of his mind was on the gypsies but he knew it was the man he saw just moments earlier. Reno could see an aura of darkness that radiated from the man, darker than his clothing. It was painfully realistic, like a lucid dream gone wrong.

Reno heard voices in the distance. One was an officer barking orders for the others to fan out and search the park. Another voice was closer and calmer, but with a hint of urgency in the tone. Inspector Nevada groaned in reply. His body shifted in the hands of another. He felt himself shoveled onto a backboard with EMT's still speaking into his ear. He couldn't focus on anything but the flood of vibrant images. The paramedics braced his neck and rolled him the rest of the way onto the backboard they had carried from the ambulance. Small flashlights shined into his eyes. His pupils responded normally.

"Inspector Reno Nevada... If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." He could hear, but squeeze he did not. He was there, but at the same time, he wasn't. The paramedics lifted him up, an EMT on each end, and they carried him to the ambulance where he was placed on a stretcher, loaded into the back and secured. The doors shut and sirens wailed as the ambulance pulled out of the park, heading towards the nearest hospital. One thing was on his mind, and that was the vision of a man in a black dress suit... a man with …pallid flesh, striking down each of the three gypsies... the details became clearer. The man slew them and ripped the backs of their shirts apart… but why? What did it mean? He wanted to see the images of Nicky again, but for the time being, they were replaced by this. They continued to grow in detail until the ambulance left the grass. Once its wheels met the pavement, the visions began to dim.

"Don't cut my suit," he murmured. "I'm fine, I'm just hallucinating. I think."

"Inspector, we need to cut off your clothes to check for injuries."

"The hell you do," he grumbled, still unable to see the normal world around him. "This suit..."

A firm female voice came from the left, speaking overtop him. "...Is ruined with grass stains and rips in the seams. Now let the men do their jobs and hush."

"Dammit," he groused, adding, "That's some bullshit." Everything felt cloudy. Reno recalled hearing a concerned voice shout about his dropping blood pressure then everything faded and he passed out.