I lean my head against the wall in the hallway, and thump it into the cool plaster until I can feel an ache developing in my skull. Just enough to remind me that I can still feel without him. I take a few deep breaths in the chill of the hallway, remind myself that it's warm in that bed, but cold there as well. At least as cold as it is out here, and gather what's left of my frazzled rejection before heading over to the elevator.

I press the button for the lobby, thankful that the attendant is off duty at this forsaken hour of night, hoping to be alone in my thoughts. But apparently, I have no such luck. "Garage level, Miss Po?" the friendly, aged attendant asks me.

"Yes," I respond, not quite meeting his eyes. I do not know what he must think of me… and that matters, for some reason.

"He is a hard man, Chang xian sheng," the man says, and his use of Chinese almost startles me. His voice is also respectful. "It must have upset him greatly for you to have left at such an hour. It is not safe to be out."

"In this city, it rarely is," I remark, pulling my collar up.

The elevator stops on the garage level. "Please, take care of yourself, Miss Po. For your sake, and for his."

I step out into the garage, and feel the chill seeping through the sheer pants of my pajamas, up my coat. I almost turn back to the elevator, but even as I turn my head I know that doors are closed. I square my shoulders and head to my car.

And that's when I feel the cold muzzle of the gun against my neck.

"Out for a little drive? It's pretty late at night for a lady to be out driving herself around, don't you think?"

The safety clicks off. Loud in my ears.

"Open the door."

I do, jerking it open far enough to hit my assailant with it. I duck my head. The gun goes off. I dive past the car, but not quite fast enough in my half-laced up boots, and stumble on a patch of oil and road salt, falling to the cold pavement in, scraping my hands and catching myself just before my cheek hits the cement.

"That was stupid, lady."

I hear the gun again, and close my eyes. "But I respect you for at least putting up a fight. I was just going to boost your car, but now I think I'd like to get to know you a little better."

Glancing up at my attacker, I frown. That's the last thing on my mind. He's wearing a ski mask and his features are obscured, but I can see past the holes in the ski mask and straight into his eyes. They're brown.

It hurts.

Almost of its own accord, my left leg sweeps his ankles out from under him, sending him toppling backwards. The gun clatters from his fingers. He didn't bother to load another bullet into the chamber, or it might have gone off again. I scramble to my feet, not nearly as agile as the martial artists in movies I've seen, or as… him… and bend to lift the gun from the pavement, reloading the chamber and pointing it at him.

"I really am not in the mood to be kidnapped, you see." I aim it at his head. "Take the mask off."

"You don't want me to do that."

I retrieve my cell phone from the pocket of my jacket and hit the number for the police. "Really? I think I do."

He slips the mask off, and glares at me.

His face is unfamiliar to me, but the spark in his brown eyes is very familiar.

"The police are on their way," I say, memorizing his features in case he manages to overpower me and escape. "You really should've come up with a better person to rob today. You should consider a better line of work next time. Something less dangerous. Because attacking Preventers officers on the way to their cars isn't the smartest thing in the world."