Lynx was feeling warm despite the chilly night. The winter weather had been pretty cool as of late, especially at night but the alcohol in his system was keeping his skin flushed. He walked alongside April, the woman he had met at the Spiral Bar and was walking home at the late hour. She said she'd been drinking too much to drive and only lived a couple blocks away so he'd offered to escort her home. It was the right thing to do and as a government official was his duty to protect the American populous. At least that's what he told himself. He had actually been hoping to get lucky with April, who was both attractive and friendly, both characteristics he had a weakness for.

"Sorry about my partner," he spoke up conversationally and glanced at her, "I haven't been working with him too long so I'm not sure if I should say he's always like that. But so far it seems that he is."

April was happy that she had someone to escort her to her doorstep. Walking this late at night was dangerous; especially for a pretty girl like herself. Her wild imagination didn't help much either, as she wondered what sorts of things go bump in the night out here in Sacramento. But having Lynx with her helped calm her down, now all she hoped for was that they didn't run into any trouble.

Damn these heels! The price women have to pay to look good...

As the man spoke up she smiled at him. "Oh, please...you don't have to apologize on his behalf. He seems a bit rough around the edges, but maybe he is not such a bad guy."

Lynx hoped she was right about Derevko. At first he thought it was just because Derevko wasn't comfortable around him, or maybe he silently objected to having a new partner all of a sudden. But now he got the feeling it was just a personality flaw, perhaps from seeing things that could no longer be unseen.

He smiled weakly, their footsteps echoing on the sidewalk pavement, "I'm sure he wants to do right. And any guy who'll buy a round of drinks for people can't be all bad." The shadows cast from the lamp posts along their path stood stock still save for the gentle sway of their own cast silhouettes. Manhole covers leaked a thin misty steam from the streets. Changing the subject he said, "It's a good bar, save for the odd quirk. I'm glad I decided to try it out. At least we can be sure the barkeep will keep the nuts out," he chuckled. Of course that's assuming he's not all that nutty himself. Guess you'd have to be a nut to spot one.

April nodded in agreement to Lynx's assesment of his partner. "It was a nice gesture really. Maybe its just the years working for the government that have made him the way he is." She paused for a moment as she reflected on something. "He reminds me of an uncle of mine. The poor man was a bit crazy; I think mostly due to his years in the military and his work with the FBI."

The girl continued to walk, careful not to trip over anything. The last thing she wanted was to fall on her face. It was bad enough that she had gotten too drunk to drive back to her own apartment. She laughed in response to Lynx's comment about the bartender. "Yeah, I'm glad that didn't turn out worse than it did! But overall, the place wasn't too bad...just a bit weird."

Lynx nodded thoughtfully to her mention of her uncle. He remembered the rest of his family were much nicer than his own father and actually vaguely associated Derevko's personality to be like his dad's, cold and mirthless. But Derevko was far more direct and less condescending, mainly because Derevko wasn't at all concerned with appearances.

It was interesting to note that April's relatives had a federal background as well. The government's employment of the population was always roughly around eight percent so it wasn't all that unusual. "Sounds like quite the guy."

Either April was looking off-balance or Lynx was feeling that way, so he offered an arm to her. "You can hang onto me if you feel like," he said, trying not to sound too forward. "Not that I'm any better," and laughed a bit. "But yeah, that old coot was quite the character. Didn't even bat an eye when he took out his piece. Even though he was cool-headed about it I wonder what was going on in his head. Derevko's kinda the same way, they don't let anything bother them on the surface."

April took his arm and gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks! I haven't had that much too drink since I was a freshman back in Notre Dame." She laughed a bit as she recalled some of her wild nights. "These heels aren't helping much either," she added while she took a moment to get a good look at Lynx.

He is not the best looking guy I've met...but there's something about him...

"Yeah, he wasn't the friendliest guy there...and you'd think that being a bartender he would at least try to be nicer to his patrons." She pulled closer to him as a stray cat jumped out of a nearby dumpster. "Sorry about that! That thing startled me for a moment," she said and laughed at herself.

"So what do you think its up with that bar though? I mean, there were a lot of weirdos in there and for some reason many of them kept heading down to the basement." April was legitimately curious as to what had been going on in there, and hoped that maybe Lynx had more of a clue. After all, he did work for the government.

Lynx beamed brightly at the touch of her arm on his. He counted his blessings as they strode through the eerie darkness, building rising above them on either side dotted by the edge of parks and intersections. At the sudden movement of the cat Lynx stood tense and April's reaction made his heart skip a beat.

Once he collected his senses he laughed, "Well, guess all that talk about the paranormal has got us both a bit jumpy." He let out a breath and let himself relax again. It was nice to get the tension out. The best way to fend off fear of the boogeyman is to laugh at him.

When she mentioned the bar his eyes looked up thoughtfully to the horizon, "Now that you mention it, that did bother me how there seemed to be a lot of people downstairs. I didn't mind at the time cause it gave us more pr...well it was easier to talk with less people around." He fumbled his words a bit, again trying not to seem too excited. "Since Derevko vouched for the place I let it drop. Maybe there's a pool or poker table down there, or maybe a gambling ring. If that were all it wouldn't bother me that much. It is California after all..." he trailed off, slightly troubled. Finally he shrugged, "Of course if it wasn't a big deal then anybody could go down there, right? We'll just have to ask the barkeep about it next time."

April laughed again. "Yeah, I guess that's what we get for talking about all that stuff. Your partner didn't seem to enjoy the subject much though." She shrugged nonchalantly and then continued to walk down the street. She listened to his words, nodding in agreement. "You know, I thought the same thing!" April said with some excitement in her voice. "At first I didn't think much of it, but with the strange crowd there and what not, I figured that maybe it was some illegal gambling ring of some sort!"

She laughed again and then came to a halt. "I guess great minds do think alike, huh?" Her beautiful blueish green eyes looked deep into his for a moment, and then she gave him a playful wink. "I guess we could always ask the bartender, but I get a feeling that he may not welcome our questions...and I would rather avoid pissing the guy off, you know?"

Before he could answer she looked up at the building behind them. "So this is my stop," she said as her gaze shifted back to Lynx. "Thanks again for escorting me, and for entertaining me tonight. I'm not sure what I would've done if you wouldn't have showed up." She smiled at him sweetly as she let go of his arm.

Should I invite him up? No way, I just met this guy! Then again, I really haven't been with anyone in a while...

Lynx did open his mouth to reply and shut again when she announced their arrival at her place. He couldn't help but sag his shoulders a bit is dismay. Still, her bright cheerful smile lifted his spirits well enough that he could muster a smile of his own.

"Hey, it's the least I could do, April. And I aught to be thanking you. You're really made my night, ya know? Not every night I get to talk to a fine-looking lady." He blushed a bit, though it was lost in the general flush of his skin from the liquor. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed again. Man I must be drunk.

He sort of ambled back and forth, while he spoke, creating a slight distance between them, anticipating her departure indoors. He hadn't even thought about where they'd walked to or what street he should take to get home, but he wasn't worried about that at the moment. Worse comes to worse he had his weapon within reach. "I'll be seeing you around then, best of luck in your studies."

April smiled at him and said, "thank you Lynx, you really are a sweet guy." She hesitated a bit, unsure of what she should do next. Should she give him her phone number? Maybe kiss him on the cheek? After her break up with her college sweetheart she really hadn't dated much, so she was a little off her usual game.

While she fumbled around the possibilities in her drunken state of mind, she finally got enough courage to say what she really wanted. "Umm, Lynx...do you want to come up?" She instantly began to blush, thinking that maybe she was too straightforward by saying something like that and quickly added, "I mean...you must live far from here, and its getting late and all..."

Gosh...I'm such an idiot!

A fanfare of trumpets erupted in Lynx's mind at the question. Was she? Was she really inviting him up? He stopped his ambling and instead took a step forward. Should he accept? The hesitation was brief but the question quickly evaporated to be lost with so many other stupid thoughts he'd had today. His eyes softened and a small smile crept into his expression, "If it's not a problem," his voice calmed, "I wouldn't want to put you out. I mean, I can crash on the couch and be out of your way once my head clears..."

"Is not a problem at all...I mean, is the least I can do since you did walk all the way over here with me," she said to him before heading towards the building's main door. April turned back around before opening the door with a smile, "well don't just stand there..."

She chuckled as she urged him forward. Once inside they took the elevator to the 5th floor and she lead him to her apartment. April dug around her purse, looking for her keys for a moment. "Here we go," she said as she finally found them. The door opened to reveal a nicely decorated studio apartment; it wasn't over the top, but it was definitely a hip spot.

"So this is it," said April with a smile. "It's not the biggest place in the world, but its nice and cozy for a girl that lives on her own."

He hesitantly follows her in and takes a look around the studio apartment. It was very college-esque, designed for comfort. You could tell a lot about a woman from their living arrangements, but Lynx mostly had his eyes on her. "Great place you've got. It's not the size but what you do wit..." he stopped and facepalmed himself before finishing that sentence. Recovering he continued, "I mean it's more than enough for one, must get lonely being cooped up by yourself." He slipped off his shoes before coming from the doorway and started to take off his jacket, hovering closer to April.

April couldn't help but snicker a bit at Lynx's words. "Well, being new in town and all, I definitely get lonely up here living all on my own," she said to the man as she inched closer to him as she added, "but I've got you to keep me company tonight..."

She slipped off her heels as she took another step closer to him. "Unless you've got other plans of course," she said teasingly as she continued to move closer to him, leaving very little space between their bodies.

Lynx wasn't so dense as to miss those signals. It didn't take a detective to figure that one out. His voice warms, a deep sensual tone, "I doubt I could come up with a better plan than that," as his hands reach to her waist, easing her against his torso. Their faces a few inches apart he could smell the scent of her hair and she could smell the lingering aftershave on his chin, all mixed with the hint of alcohol on their breaths. He gazed longingly into her eyes, happy, eager. It had been too long since he had known this feeling, to have a woman in his arms. "You've got me all to yourself now," he said in a faint whisper.

April looked right back into his eyes before throwing her arms over his shoulders, and learning in to kiss him. One of her hands played with his hair, while the other rested on the man's back. All other thoughts escaped her mind, for she could only focus on one thing at that moment. There in a stranger's embrace, April's feelings of loneliness abandoned her as the power of lust took over her mind and body.

Fade to black...