Just another homicide...

"No, Nightshade, don't you remember? It's me." he stepped closer to her. He wanted to embrace his old friend, heck, he'd even kiss her - but catching Nightshade Adante off-guard could be a very dangerous thing. "Balto." he whispered in her ear, removing his aviators briefly. The eyes were the windows to the soul, afterall - the key to recognition. For a moment, he regretted telling her who he was. Having her know his identity meant that the men after him could target her, using her to get closer to him. But he hoped to kill that fear soon. He'd been tipped off to his attackers' whereabouts. And if the source was correct, they wouldn't be but a few hours' drive away. Tonight, Novak's sniper rifle would be waiting for them.

It would almost be in his benefit to have someone come after NightShade. As he'd noted...catching NightShade off-guard could be more than dangerous...and giving her something to fight for might rekindle her former spunk...which could be a terrifying hand to deal to any attacker. For the moment however...her brain was dumbfounded.

She felt like she was hearing him through a wall of jelly. She heard his words, but the process of comprehending faltered as she stared at those eyes. NightShade never forgot eyes...she was known to make direct eye-contact, something that often became mildly intimidating for those she encountered. Balto...free from those damned ginormous shades, simply couldn't be mistaken. Her insides seemed to clench and explode simultaneously, and she felt like she were in some twisted dream.

She didn't react for a long while, staring at him dumbfounded, until a tear trickled down her face...she'd neglected to blink. Her hands shook slightly at her sides as she drew in a rushed breath, reminding herself that oxygen was good for the brain and the fact she'd stopped breathing was probably why her brain was feeling so fuzzy.

"Oh...my...God..." she mouthed eyes wide before letting out a mildly insane screech of joy, arms thrown around his shoulders that neither heaven nor hell could pry open without her consent. Her entire form was shaking and she was sobbing and grinning like a fool at the same time...uncaring to anything around her anymore...if only for the moment.

Novak grinned, hugging her back. It was all so surreal... "Damn, I never thought I'd see you again." he admitted, still not letting go. It was so good to see her. "Jesus, Nightshade, where the hell have you been?" he asked, stepping back to give her some breathing room. He'd probably nearly suffocated her with that bear-hug of his. "Oh...and before you say anything...I go by Alex Novak now." he said quietly with a slight nod, knowing she'd understand. If anyone understood the term 'keeping a low profile', it was her.

"Surreal?" she inquired with a quirked brow, only hesitantly letting him go," Ba-" she halted midway through her sentence," Alex," she corrected herself," this isn't surreal this is a fucking miracle. I heard you were dea-" she paused, looking about herself," ...transferred. You know..out of the city, out of the state, out of the continent..vanished. Poof," she frowned softly, staring to the jagged edges of the broken bottle poking through the paper bag," Thought you'd left me...like...everyone else...its been..." she bit her lip, unable to come up with a word that properly contained her anguish," ...brutal...I guess."

"I've been...around..." she remarked, tossing a strand of silvery hair out of one of those pale eyes," ...passing out in gutters to tell you the truth...you don't know how awful its been. Everyones...gone...like I've been abandoned," She gave a very tight, bitter laugh," ...shit even the cops abandoned me...kind of a slap in the face I guess," She tucked her gloved hands in the pockets of her long coat...same coat as always, beaten and scuffed, its leather lengths falling down to the backs of her knees.

"Well..until..." she glanced to the nearby detective edgily, scooting ever so slightly behind Balto's shoulder, closer to his hear, and more out of earshot," ...I've been going by the identity of Lyrra Watson..." she jerked her head towards the charred apartment complex," ...that was my apartment...my ID..and all the remnants of my stuff...is in there," she gave him a sad little grin," ..and with my record...I might have a bit of a problem on hand..because my footprints..my boots...on my feet right now..are certainly fresh in that muck because last night I went to buy some booze."

"Yeah, you could say that." he smirked slightly, shaking his head. "I'll explain everything soon...you're not the only one who's suprised." Novak motioned to Zee, still in the SUV. "I didn't mean to dissapear...but I did what I had to." he sighed. "My partner still doesn't know that I'm alive. He's gonna kick my ass." Novak managed a laugh.

He frowned as Nightshade went into detail about what she'd been through. "I'm so sorry, Ni-Lyrra." he shook his head. "I'll see what I can do for you...I may not be with the FBI anymore, but I still have connections." he winked. "Guess you'll be staying at my place." He grinned slightly at the thought. His apartment had always been a second-home to many of his friends in their time of need. He had since relocated, however.

"You can stick with NightShade...its not as if it matters," she sighed," I had an ID that said I was Lyrra...but don't think for a second anyone was fooled...not to mention...that guy over there, the young one," she shrugged," He looks like a crafty bastard. I don't imagine prancing around calling myself Lyrra without a disguise will do me much good...I'd say I've got some time until they remember me though."

"I'm innocent...of course...you know me..." she shrugged," Slaughtering girls isn't my forte...robbing their rich daddy is...was," she eyed the car, and then the detective," Mmm...making more friends I see?" she made sure to stick very close to his side. As she saw it she had a number of options...run and lose everyone again...or wait until someone took notice of her. She opted for the second, remaining in his company felt good...like things perhaps hadn't gone so horribly wrong and there wasn't so much blood haunting her.

"Sleepover party then?" she inquired," I'd get my jammies but..." she gestured to the apartment once more," ...yeah," she stared to the bag once more," ...you owe me a bottle of Vodka...your cars too damn huge."

"You can call me Alex. Or Novak. Whatever. It sounds better than Balto, anyway." he smirked, looking to Slame. "You mean him? That's my partner. I think you can trust him." he said truthfully. "And Latha," he nodded to the woman next to Slame. "You could say she's my partner as well. She's made it her job to make sure I don't get shot." he grinned slightly. Heck, he might as well mention Zee. "And the girl in the car...a friend of mine." he sighed. "You know, typically big SUV's stand out. I can see someone running into a pole...but my /car/?" he grinned, teasing her. "Sure, I'll buy you a drink. I think I owe you that much."

She had rolled down the window, mainly to stare at the broken bottle. Eventually her gaze lifted, "What the fuck is your problem?" She quizzed her, her eyes dropping down to the bottle once more, staying glued to them for awhile, as if her gaze would be able to reconstruct it before squinting at Balto, "Hold the phone-" she had always wanted to be able to use that particular phrase, "She can hit your car and get hugged, but I kick it and get my ass chewed?" She glared at him and muttered something under her breath before turning to the female, "Ana by the way."

"My problem?" NightShade inquired staring at the other female," I've got a laundry list of them, love. Want to compare notes?" a smirk slid over her features, feeling a little more like her old self as time went on.

She shot a look to Balto," Pfft...no no...now that doesn't matter? Partner? No. It doesn't matter...the only reason you're not out to get me is because you had the hots for my best friend, Novak." She cast another glance to Slame before jumping into the backseat of Balto's SUV, deciding the car was safer than standing in the open on the street...she had some time before they went through the criminal records of the people inhabiting the apartment.

"I can hit his car and get hugged because he knows I could hog tie him seventeen ways past Tuesday," she remarked, situating herself and her beaten trenchcoat into the backseat," NightShade Andante," she stated, reaching a gloved hand forward," We go way back. To what misfortune do you owe knowing Mr. Bad Aviator Glasses?"

A smirk instantly moved onto her face at her comment, "They do look horrible on him, don't they?" She turned slightly in her seat, scratching her head lightly as she thought it over, "Honestly....I don't....remember that much. I do know that I stayed at his place for awhile, even though he turned into a Nazi and shot a few people that mattered to me. But we'll finish that conversation later, won't we Alex." She gave him a quick glance before returning to her, "As for yourself?"

"Mmm..that doesn't sound much like the Balto I know," she remarked," and yes they do look awful...like giant bug eyes. It makes him look like some big hotshot who's got an ego so big you want to stuff it up his ass," a snicker slipped forth from her lips as she lounged back a bit in the seat, her hair spilling over the seat, sharply contrasting against the darkness.

"I housed next door to him with my best friend for some time...he had the hots for her...or..vice versa..one or the other...then anyhow, I lost track of her. Everyone I knew died or vanished and then I heard he died...and I started drinking a shit-ton," she shrugged a shoulder lightly," ...prior to that though I had...have a ridiculous criminal record...and he bailed my ass out a number of time and shot a lot of people who shot at me."

An amused snort exited her throat as she scanned his shades one more time before crossing her legs and sitting up a little straighter, visibly not too pleased with the reality smack she had just gotten. "What a charming story of love and sticking it to the man." She mused with a sweet smile before thinking for a moment; "I was gone for awhile, I didn't even know about this 'death' I've heard so much about in the past few minutes, then all of a sudden he's freaking out over something, then tells me to call him by a different name or whatever and expects me to not want to figure out what was going on." Her ice blue eyes rolled sharply as she shook her head, digging through her purse again.

"...you say that like I know anything...all I know is what I read in the obituaries...I imagine he's gotten himself into one shitty mess though...I mean theres only a number of reasons to fake one's own death and not tell your friends driving them into horrendous states of depression," the last bit was hissed through gritted teeth. The thought of it was actually very bothersome. He had better been in some really deep trouble, or else she had half a mind to run him through. Knowing she had some sort of friend out there would have been such a relief.

"We'll get the details out of him," she assured the other female," I'm curious by nature...and somewhat hungover...we'll hold him at gunpoint if we have to. I...mean..shit my numbers up anyway...there's a dead girl over there...I'll sure as hell be on the suspect list, and once I get to that point its lock and key for me. Upon which point I plan on bludgeoning my face up against a wall until I'm dead."

Novak had returned to the driver's seat, attempting to jump in their conversation at a few different points, but gave up. He shifted unconfortably in his seat at the various personal details they were spewing out. Finally, he just slammed his head on the steering wheel, making the car honk for a few seconds. "You know, I was expecting more of a 'Oh, Balto! Good to see you!' sort of reaction. Now you both want to interrogate me. Trust me, it's best that neither of you know until it's over." he frowned.

She jumped slightly at the horn, the noise making her loose her train of thought for a moment. "'Oh Balto! Good to see you!" She sang sweetly before her smile dissapeared, "Happy? Maybe if you wouldn't of yelled at me right off the bat you would have gotten that reaction."

"Well excuse me if I was a little upset for seeing you all drugged out." he snapped, clenching his jaw angrily. Novak slipped his aviators back on. He didn't care what they thought - he liked them.

"Druggie?" NightShade inquired," Ah..that explains it. I thought you were a prostitute at first...but...well unless Balto's picked up some habits I've been unaware of," she frowned," Would you please not honk the horn...I don't need people coming over to the damn car and dragging my ass out and I don't think you want the suits over here either because one...apparently one of them thinks you're dead..and two..if that...Lasha...Hatha...Tatas..whoever the fuck you mentioned foxtrots over here the conversations going to go something like this..."

She poised herself, tilting her head to one side, her words laced in a sort of venom despite her overly friendly voice," Oh hey Balto...whatcha doin in public? Didn't you know corpses don't walk? Oh..and whats this you have in the back of your car? A wanted criminal reeking of alcohol and a drugged up girl in stilettos?" her expression flattened," And by the looks of her I think she might slit your throat...and then beat me to death with your damned severed head..and I'm just not going to let that happen...and then there's going to be a brutal street fight...and then those other guys," she gestured to the crime scene," are going to notice the commotion..and then BLAM!!...there goes my fucking head," she simultaneously mimed a trigger being pulled to her face...for dramatic effect you know.

"...and it is good to see you...I'm just kind of you know...semi hung over and the car horns loud and there's a dead body where my apartment used to be...not what I expected when I woke up..." she thought," er...well un-passed out yesterday morning."

"Right. I'm going." he smirked, starting the car and driving down the street, probably a little more quickly than he should have. "Just...don't kill eachother, /please/. I just had this car cleaned." he grinned. "I guess I'll just go back to my apartment. It's safer than being out in the open, I suppose." he thought aloud, wondering if he should take out the bullet-proof vests from his trunk.

"Really? Couldn't tell," She mumbled, laying a bit lower in her seat. He was speeding..but not much, she didn't assume they were at much risk, as far as she knew it wasn't time for cops to reach their quota, and most of them seemed to be occupied with the roasty toasty body they'd left behind. Their only worry would be a do-good cop, saving the world one speeding ticket at a time...and this was New York City, if any of them went uncorrupt in the current state of the city, she hadn't yet seen it. That was how she managed to roam free for so long quite some time back. Of course...by the same token they might get some self righteous jackass of a cop who'd hunt them down just to be a bitch...and she hated those ones. She hoped Balto had the mind not to stop if such an event arose.

"So lets hear this story...why did Balto die, Alex?" her tone didn't offer any room for avoidance of the question," and before you say "Its better if you don't know", let me warn you..if you do say that I'm going to grab the wheel and throw us into on-coming traffic, and your car, and your aviators will be totaled. Are we clear? ...Ignorance is bliss unless it shows up at your door with a shotgun, and I don't want to be unprepared for any shotguns..."

"...and..." she hesitated, her voice faltering ever so slightly as a new thought crossed her mind," ...while...you've been 'dead'...you...haven't happened to stumble upon..anyone else we might know who...y'know...may or, may not be...dead?"

Novak sighed. There was no avoiding it. "Ok. But this doesn't leave the car." he warned the two of them. "I was on vacation. With a friend. While I was half-asleep a man broke in, tried to kill both of us.." he trailed off. "Long story short, he was a hitman sent to kill me. I think I've got an idea of who he worked for. They don't have a name, but they're dangerous." he shrugged, turning down a different street. "And I think I know where they are. So if you ladies don't mind, I'll be leaving in a few hours." he smirked. Obviously, Novak wasn't big on details.
"Sorry, Nightshade...haven't heard from her." he shook his head sadly, dissapointed that Nightshade, Rogue's best friend, didn't even know of her whereabouts.

She merely chuckled at her mistaken occupation and shrugged it off, it wasn't like she was a saint. She hid her smirk and gave Alex a fierce glare at his monologue, her arms crossing. "Why the hell you think you are so damn awesome you can leave open ends like that?" She hissed, squinting at him, "'I'll be leaving in a few hours'. Psh, you say that like I won't follow your punk ass."

ooc;

I'm wondering whether or not to just jump into the fray whilst I wait for Slame's reply...

anyway, just noticed that at least half of everyone here has some short of drinking/drug problem. [Or in Latha's case, both. Ahaha.]
This is quite hilarious, actually.

/randomcomment

ooc: -pokes at Slame- I dunno..whichever you prefer of course...I mean you could find some way to blatantly have some need to run off if you want...I mean...Mister supposed to be laying low did take off in a car with a known criminal and a druggie...and there was yelling and horn honking. But whichever.

And yes..they do. Though Night's has just been within the last month. She used to avoid the stuff as a rule of thumb...

ooc//
Ana was a binge drinker, then I threw in a drug addiction when I re-did her.
Main reason why I'm posting though: I'm going to be gone for a few days. Whoot for summer.

ooc; I have no clue what to do!!! D:

Grev is like not in the roleplay at all. And all of you know each other. I feel left out.