I realized that the X-men won't be meeting up with them for a couple more chapters than I originally said, so I stuck some Logan in there. He's on his way to the manision now, from his first trip to Alkali, just to give you a timeline.
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They crossed the New York-Connecticut border around three, and dumped the car on the highway about fourty-five minutes away from the Big Apple. Cat insisted they walk back along the way they had come, to throw off the FBI, who would assume they would keep going, straight into New York City. Once she explained it, it sounded logical, but Theo knew he never would have come up with it on his own.
They came to a town called Salem Center, and ducked behind a grocery store so Cat could smoke and they both could think.
"You realize those things will give you cancer," he said, gesturing at her cigarette.
She shrugged. "Way my life's going, I'm gonna die early anyways, so I might as well enjoy myself."
"Right, well, don't come crying to me when you're sixty and hacking up lung tissue." She glared at him and they lapsed into silence again.
"We need money," Theo said finally, having just counted the remains of the hundred-dollar bill he'd taken when he'd left. (The total being two dollars and eighty-three cents.)
Cat chuckled quietly, a sound he was already beginning to associate with the comment that followed. "No shit, man. Let's get some."
"You make it sound simple."
She grinned cockily at him. "When you roll with me, it is." She fished around in her pockets and pulled out a tanktop that was considerably smaller and skimpier than the one she was presently wearing.
"What else do you have in there?" he asked, thinking of Mary Poppins and her bottomless carpetbag.
She grinned and ducked behind a dumpster to change, emerging looking less like a runaway and more like a... well, harlot. "Let's go." Without explaining, she sauntered out into the parking lot and headed towards a bar nearby, leaving Theo to gawk after her.
An hour later, Theo had lost track of the amount of money that had disappeared into Cat's pocket. The girl was a grade-A pool shark, and thanks to the tanktop that revealed cleavage the other tanktop had effectively hidden, guys kept playing her, hoping for what every other guy in the bar was hoping for. At twenty bucks a game, Theo figured she had more than eighty bucks tucked away, which was more money than he'd seen in a long time. And the guy she was playing now, a short guy with hair reminescent of Flock of Seagulls and sideburns down to his jawline, had upped the anty to a hundred bucks.
The reason for which became apparent when, six minutes later, Theo realized that the guy was coming dangerously close to kicking her ass. Cat realized it too, and suddenly her body language changed to subtly seductive, so subtle, in fact, that the guy probably hadn't even noticed it. But the distraction was enough for his body, and his next few shots were off fractionally, while Cat continued with her ace game.
Of course, Theo noticed, as did the guys sitting on either side of him at the bar, who didn't take their eyes off her, and when Cat leaned over to line up a shot, every single guy at the bar leaned over with her.
Suddenly the guy leaned over and whispered something directly into her ear. Crack. Cat straightened and watched four balls spin into their prospective holes, while the guy looked on in dismay.
She glanced up and looked directly at Theo, and winked, the first time she'd acknowledged him since they'd entered the bar. He nodded back in appreciation of her shot and subsequent victory, and she jerked her head towards the door.
The guys on either side whistled lewdly as he slipped off his stool and moved out into the street, where the sky had darkened into night, and he waited until Cat sauntered out of the bar, silently counting a thick wad of cash and chewing on the unlit end of a cigar that looked exactly like the one the guy she'd beaten had been smoking. She glanced up and grinned, spitting out the cigar.
"I'm feeling like Whoppers tonight. My treat. C'mon." She looped an arm around his waist, a gesture that startled him on several levels, and pulled him towards the Burger King down the road. After a few steps, he tentatively put his arm around her shoulders, and her head rested on his shoulder.
"Seduction is tiring work," she murmmured, and he laughed his agreement.
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Review after the next chapter, which is very short, so I'm posting them at the same time.
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They crossed the New York-Connecticut border around three, and dumped the car on the highway about fourty-five minutes away from the Big Apple. Cat insisted they walk back along the way they had come, to throw off the FBI, who would assume they would keep going, straight into New York City. Once she explained it, it sounded logical, but Theo knew he never would have come up with it on his own.
They came to a town called Salem Center, and ducked behind a grocery store so Cat could smoke and they both could think.
"You realize those things will give you cancer," he said, gesturing at her cigarette.
She shrugged. "Way my life's going, I'm gonna die early anyways, so I might as well enjoy myself."
"Right, well, don't come crying to me when you're sixty and hacking up lung tissue." She glared at him and they lapsed into silence again.
"We need money," Theo said finally, having just counted the remains of the hundred-dollar bill he'd taken when he'd left. (The total being two dollars and eighty-three cents.)
Cat chuckled quietly, a sound he was already beginning to associate with the comment that followed. "No shit, man. Let's get some."
"You make it sound simple."
She grinned cockily at him. "When you roll with me, it is." She fished around in her pockets and pulled out a tanktop that was considerably smaller and skimpier than the one she was presently wearing.
"What else do you have in there?" he asked, thinking of Mary Poppins and her bottomless carpetbag.
She grinned and ducked behind a dumpster to change, emerging looking less like a runaway and more like a... well, harlot. "Let's go." Without explaining, she sauntered out into the parking lot and headed towards a bar nearby, leaving Theo to gawk after her.
An hour later, Theo had lost track of the amount of money that had disappeared into Cat's pocket. The girl was a grade-A pool shark, and thanks to the tanktop that revealed cleavage the other tanktop had effectively hidden, guys kept playing her, hoping for what every other guy in the bar was hoping for. At twenty bucks a game, Theo figured she had more than eighty bucks tucked away, which was more money than he'd seen in a long time. And the guy she was playing now, a short guy with hair reminescent of Flock of Seagulls and sideburns down to his jawline, had upped the anty to a hundred bucks.
The reason for which became apparent when, six minutes later, Theo realized that the guy was coming dangerously close to kicking her ass. Cat realized it too, and suddenly her body language changed to subtly seductive, so subtle, in fact, that the guy probably hadn't even noticed it. But the distraction was enough for his body, and his next few shots were off fractionally, while Cat continued with her ace game.
Of course, Theo noticed, as did the guys sitting on either side of him at the bar, who didn't take their eyes off her, and when Cat leaned over to line up a shot, every single guy at the bar leaned over with her.
Suddenly the guy leaned over and whispered something directly into her ear. Crack. Cat straightened and watched four balls spin into their prospective holes, while the guy looked on in dismay.
She glanced up and looked directly at Theo, and winked, the first time she'd acknowledged him since they'd entered the bar. He nodded back in appreciation of her shot and subsequent victory, and she jerked her head towards the door.
The guys on either side whistled lewdly as he slipped off his stool and moved out into the street, where the sky had darkened into night, and he waited until Cat sauntered out of the bar, silently counting a thick wad of cash and chewing on the unlit end of a cigar that looked exactly like the one the guy she'd beaten had been smoking. She glanced up and grinned, spitting out the cigar.
"I'm feeling like Whoppers tonight. My treat. C'mon." She looped an arm around his waist, a gesture that startled him on several levels, and pulled him towards the Burger King down the road. After a few steps, he tentatively put his arm around her shoulders, and her head rested on his shoulder.
"Seduction is tiring work," she murmmured, and he laughed his agreement.
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Review after the next chapter, which is very short, so I'm posting them at the same time.