She sighed contentedly. "You always know what I'll like."

"My dear, you always say that."

"Well, it's the truth."

"At times, I think that you say that just to make me happy."

"I would never lie to you."

"Yes, I suppose that's true."

She laughed, and he smiled. He couldn't remember any other time in his life in which he had found himself smiling so frequently. She had realized this, and it amazed her to think that she, a "misfit" that had never received any attention from a man before, had some strange importance to someone as feared as John Dread.

They ordered their dinner and she waited until the waiter was out of hearing range. As soon as this happened, she leaned forward and spoke in a very low and excited voice.

"Well…have you seen any progress with the special project?"

He examined his glass of water thoughtfully. "They have just finished with the administration of the nanoprobes. They should know something by tomorrow night. A good twenty-four hours. As of now, it's impossible to know…even though when I left the situation seemed…a bit violent."

"Is it safe for you to be so close to him? If we don't know what might happen you could get hurt. It would be too easy-"

He took her hands in his, gently shushing her. "He is very securely restrained and has four armed guards watching him. I do not have any plans of getting close to him. I promise you I am not going to put myself in danger."

She did not seem completely convinced.

He smiled again. "I have no interest in anything that would shorten the time that I plan on spending with you."

She felt her face warm as she blushed at his gaze. Realizing she had turned what was supposed to be a romantic night out into a business conference, she quickly changed the subject to more casual matters and he followed along seamlessly. Laughing and enjoying each other's company, the dinner went by all too quickly, as it usually did.

It was amazing how much he could transform himself to fit the circumstances. When he acted this way, it seemed too natural. She found it impossible to tell which personality was truly him – the ruthless executioner, or the smiling man sitting across the candlelit table from her describing the beauties of places she could only dream of going one day.

In fact the only time she even glimpsed that other personality the whole night was when the bill came. The waiter had accidentally placed it in a way that tilted slightly towards the woman at the table, and although John Dread was quick to place it out of her sight, she still managed to see it. The look the server received was pure ice, and had John's date been less shocked by the price she may have felt some pity for the young man.

Despite the apparent hatred Dread harbored for the server, he still chuckled when he turned back to his date and took in her expression of utter shock. "It's only a number, my dear."

"That's – that's too much."

"Of course it's not," he assured her smoothly, subtly tucking several hundred dollar bills into the bill holder.

She blinked.

He looked her sternly in the eye. "I have money. A lot of it. And you are the only person I have ever had with which to share it. Please, let me indulge myself in taking care of you every once in a while."

Not knowing what to say, she simply nodded. How was one supposed to argue with such a statement?

Smiling, he stood up and took her arm as they walked to the front of the restaurant together. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, they were quickly greeted by his best driver, who held the door of the black limousine open for the two.

She began to walk towards it, knowing that it wasn't very safe for him to be out in the open for long, but he signaled her to stop. "Actually, I was thinking we might walk for a bit. If you don't mind."

"Not at all." It was a beautiful night, and she had always fantasized walking under such a beautiful starlit sky with the man of her dreams.

He stepped forward and offered a handshake to his driver, who was of course more than just that. Firmly clasping the other man's hand, he gave clear instructions for him to meet them on the other side of the park adjacent to the restaurant. Holding eye contact a second longer than was typical, Dread nodded before putting his smile back on and returning to the beautiful woman waiting for him a few steps ahead.

The driver watched them stroll together holding hands under the street lights. Glancing up at a second story window of one of the houses lining the street, he saw a slight movement in the curtains lining the frame. While everything was supposed to appear perfectly normal, there were currently four snipers keeping watch over the situation. The occupants of the park his boss was to stroll through with his date were all employed by DREDD as well. The woman would never know any of this.

Which brought him back to the current situation. Flexing his right hand, he felt the small piece of paper that had been transmitted under the guise of a friendly handshake. Making sure the couple could no longer see him, he unfolded it, reading it quickly.

Our server was the tall blond man working the Northeast corner of the room. The name on his tag is Gerard. Kill him.

The request to be picked up on the opposite end of the park left the man with a good ten minutes to complete the task. It would probably take him three. The driver shook his head as he put on his gloves and entered the restaurant. The waiters in this city really had to step up their game. This was the fifth one this week that had royally pissed off John Dread.

There was a full moon that night that bathed the park in a beautiful silvery light. John Dread's face seemed to glow as he spoke to her about the world and how they would make it better. Make it beautiful. Make it theirs.

She laughed lightly. "You flatter me, John."

Smiling once more, he looked sideways at her. "Oh?"

"Including me on your plans for the future. It sounds nice."

He had stopped walking. Looking around, she realized they stood in the middle of the park, directly underneath the moon which had to be the brightest she had ever seen. Taking both her hands in his as he had done in the restaurant, he moved to stand in front of her, looking into her dark eyes.

"I'm glad to hear you say that."

"You are?"

"Yes. I am."

Gazing up at him, she suddenly felt happier than she ever had in her life. Nothing could make this moment any better.

"I know you prefer to go by Dragonelle, so I beg you to forgive me for using your original name in this instance. It just seems more suitable."

Before she could process what was happening, he had dropped to one knee in front of her and pulled out a ring with the biggest diamond she had ever seen. Under the light of the moon it was absolutely radiant – almost supernatural in its beauty.

"Dragonelle, Ella Long, I want you to marry me."