It turned out, he didn't need a list. He had a photographic memory, after all, and there weren't all that many things that Sam and Jack had told him to buy. Large fries, cheeseburger and banana split for Jack, quart of ice cream for Jaffer – who probably wouldn't get the whole quart at once, Ian was sure. He looked over at Cassie.

"What would your mom want?"

"Peanut Buster Parfait."

He ordered one of those, too.

"What would you like?"

She started to reach for her money, but Ian shook his head.

"I'll buy, Cassandra. I'm buying everyone else's. Just tell the man what you want."

She smiled, secretly enjoying the way he said her name, and ordered a chicken strip basket and a sundae. Ian made sure it was all she wanted, and then ordered himself a double cheese burger and large fries with a large caramel shake. He was just paying the man when the four guys walked through the double glass doors, swaggering with the cocky confidence of youth – and led by another guy who had a scowl on his face as he looked around the restaurant.

Since Ian and Cassie were the only two people in the store, the guy had no trouble at all deciding that they were the ones he was looking for. He headed their direction, his cronies following.

"You driving that green convertible?" The guy asked, coolly, without any preamble as he came up to the counter to stand beside Ian, his buddies ranging themselves around the three in a loose semi-circle.

Ian looked over at him.

"Yup."

"I think you made a mistake then."

"Oh?"

"You flipped me off, didn't you?"

"I flipped off some cock sucker who cut me off..." Ian told him.

The guy – who was probably a year or so older than Ian – scowled.

"Did you just call me a cock sucker?"

Ian shrugged.

"I threw a rock into a pack of dogs and waited for the one that got hit to howl..."

Cassie snickered, getting it long before the guy or any of his buddies did. The guy glared at her, and Ian stepped between Cassie and his malevolent stare.

"You have a problem?"

"I don't like being flipped off, you piece of-"

"Tough shit."

"Hey you guys, we don't want any trouble in here..." The man behind the counter had been joined by another guy – who was apparently the manager of some sort. Ian turned, shaking his head.

"I'm not causing trouble." Ian told him.

"We're just waiting on our order," Cassie confirmed. The other guy behind the counter nodded his head in agreement.

"They're not doing anything wrong."

"Then maybe your friends should step outside," the manager suggested.

"They're no friends of mine," Ian told him, shrugging.

The five guys glared, but with the manager right there, and a cordless phone in his hand – more than ready to call the police, certainly – there wasn't much they could do.

"Yeah, maybe we should step outside..." Their leader said, glaring at Ian, who snorted. What a cliché.

Realizing he was just making himself look stupid, the leader turned and headed for the door, his buddies right behind him. The manager looked at Ian.

"You want me to call a cop?"

The cadet shook his head.

"We're fine."

Cassie didn't feel quite so sure of that as Ian looked. Through the glass door, she could see that the bronco was still in the parking lot – although she couldn't see any of the guys.

The server brought them a couple of large brown bags, filled with their order.

"You two be careful," he warned them.

Ian nodded and handed the bags to Cassie, who realized that he wanted his hands free – just in case. Then he led her towards the door.

"If they give us any shit, you go straight to the car, okay?" Jaffer was in the car, and Ian was pretty sure that no one would be dumb enough to try anything with Cassie with the big lab looking over her shoulder.

She nodded, and he held the door for her.

They hadn't made it more than a few steps when the five guys were there, circling them.

Ian scowled.

"You got a problem?"

"Oh, yeah..." the ringleader told him. "I've got a problem. But not as big as the one you've got."

Ian rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with his posturing.

"I'll tell you this once, shit for brains... you step back, or I'm going to make you eat your bumper."

"You're going to fight me, huh?" The guy sneered. "Me and my friends?"

Ian shrugged.

"One at a time or all at once... whatever you want. You're nothing."

"Fuck you, you little-" Even while he was saying it, the guy was swinging, a big fist coming straight for Ian's face.

Ian's left hand came up to block the punch, and he ducked slightly, driving his right fist into the guy's solar plexus, staggering him.

"You Sonofabitch!" was about all he managed to gasp out as he clutched his side.

"Fuck you." Ian pushed him away, making an opening for Cassie so she could make a break for the car. It didn't turn out to be necessary, though.

A low growl caught everyone's attention, and Ian, Cassie and all five of the guys turned towards the sound – to find Jaffer standing behind the leader of the group. The big lab had seen plenty from the car and had come to join the fray – but he'd give a warning first.

"Call off your fucking dog," one of the other guys said, nervously.

Ian shrugged, well aware that he had the upper hand now that Jaffer was there – although he was pretty sure he hadn't needed his help anyways.

"He's not my dog."

"Fucking cocky Sonofabitch..."

"Yeah, yeah. Kiss my ass."

It was a stalemate. Ian wasn't going to back off. Jaffer wasn't going to back off, and the five guys had them outnumbered and their pride certainly wasn't going to allow them to back off. It might have turned into quite a brawl and the blood definitely would have started flowing – but at that moment a black and white police cruiser pulled into the parking lot, and stopped right beside the group. Obviously the manager had decided that Ian and Cassie weren't 'fine' at all, and had called for some help.

"Shit..."