She had stood in line for nearly five minutes while she clutched the gallon of rocky road ice cream, and waited patiently for Mrs. Ling to ring up the customers in front of her. Mrs. Ling was in her early eighties and moved like every joint in her body had arthritis and the thickness of her glasses told just how blind she was. But still, she ran the little convenience store in the neighborhood, and no one had ever tried to rob it. It was as if there was some unspoken rule that you had better not mess with Mrs. Ling. Also, people who lived in the neighborhood really went out of their way to look out for the elderly lady, even the younger crowd who'd you'd think would be the ones causing the most trouble. Yes, they left Mrs. Ling alone, but anyone else was fair game.

"Damn, girl, you thick," The tallest of the three younger boys who stood just behind her spoke out. He was a black boy but his accent told her that he was Latino, and his dark complexion made her think of the Dominican Republic. He was accompanied by another black boy who didn't say anything but the way he leered at her while sucking on the cherry blow pop in his mouth spoke volumes. She didn't engage with them she just kept staring straight ahead and she shuffled forward when another patron had been checked out.

"You know I gotta thing for pretty ladies who wear glasses," The other boy, a pimply-faced white boy, who looked too scrawny and too soft to even be hanging with the other two, spoke out. He reached out and flicked one of her golden locks with his right pointer finger. Under the light of day, she probably would have turned to him and given him a piece of her mind at his audacity to touch a woman without permission. But it was 10:15 pm and she hadn't been able to talk her mind out of going out for a late-night craving. And Mrs. Ling had just finished ringing up the guy right in front of her so she rushed forward and placed the ice cream and money on the counter. When Mrs. Ling wrung her up and she saw her total, she just slid her the five and three single dollar bills, grabbed up the ice cream, spoke a soft good night, and hurried out the exit.

Once outside she took big strides to her car, as big as the hip-hugging dress and stilettos she wore would allow. She silently cursed at herself for not changing out of her work attire before she left home, but it had been a late workday and the craving for ice cream struck as soon as she had crossed the threshold of her apartment. She let out a slight sigh when she grasped the handle of her car door, but that was soon replaced with a gasp when the door was slammed shut again. She looked up in surprise to see the three younger guys now surrounding her, with the white guy right in front of her as he leaned against her car.

"Hey, can I get your number?" He asked casually as he lazily reached out his right hand and twirled her hair around his fingers.

"I have a boyfriend," She replied as she took a step back and glanced at her surroundings to determine that there was no one else in the parking lot but them. Even the streets were empty and dark. The only help she would be able to get if she had to seek it, would be from Mrs. Ling whom she knew wouldn't be any real help. "He's waiting for me to get back, so…"

"Yo, man let a fine thing like you come out this late by yourself?" The black Latino boy spoke out again. "Don't he know there are a lot of dangerous people out here at night?" He asked as he moved right up to her backside and ground himself against her ass. This made her panic and step forward and right up against the white boy, who reached up and grasped both of her bountiful breasts in both of his hands. Her unshed tears were already blurring her vision as she shivered slightly in fear of what she was sure was about to happen to her. Before she could open her mouth to scream for help a gunshot rang out, and she along with her three unwanted companions turned to where the shot emerged. They could only make out the dark silhouette of a tall, slender built figure and the gun in his right hand. "Hey, we were just trying to help the lady to her car," He added as he held his hands up to show he was no threat.

"Yeah, man," The white guy added as he opened the car door for her, but she stood rooted in her spot as she stared at the man who stood across the street, hidden in the darkness watching them. There was something familiar about him but she couldn't quite place what it was. Then he tilted his head ever so slightly and it sent a chill through her body and made her drop the ice cream. She quickly hopped into her car, started it up, and backed out of her parking space as the force of the movement slammed the door closed. The three guys had jumped back out of the way cursing as they watched her peel away. The shadow man watched her as she left.

He had first noticed her three days prior and he started stealthily following and watching her. He thought she might have been one of his beloveds from his past, the one that got away, but he hadn't been sure until that very moment. As she looked at him her eyes told him that she thought she had known him, and then right before she jumped in her car and sped off, her eyes held a look of recognition. It had been nearly 30 years since he'd last seen her, 30 years of him searching and never finding any clues to her whereabouts. Then three days ago while passing through town he had randomly stopped for coffee, something he'd never done in the home of the FBI, and there she was. And once he saw her, he ignored all of his survival skills and survival instincts, which screamed at him to get the hell out of town. Instead, he had been so drawn to her as if she had put a compulsion and enthrallment spell over him and he had followed her discreetly. Now he was glad he had, now he was 100% sure of who she was.

"My Penny," He whispered out into the darkness and a smile curved his lips as his eyes stayed locked onto the rear lights on her car until she finally rounded a corner a block down the street.