"Where is the girl?" Zealot asked as she walked in from an evening security check.

"She's holed up in her room. Don't worry. She isn't going anywhere. She already tried to use her telepathic powers on me earlier and failed. I think she's sulking." Grifter responded as he flipped through a magazine. He had changed into a pair of distressed jeans, a black t shirt and a baseball cap.

"She will learn to trust us as allies."

"Well, she has to. It takes time, but time isn't something we have a lot of. Sooner rather than later she's going to have to pull her own weight in a fight. I hope Voodoo's a quick learner." He took a swig of his drink. "Sit down. Have a beer. We are about as off duty as we can get." Zealot looked at him then gave in and retrieved a bottle from the refrigerator. She sat down next to him on the sofa. "To retrieving the Gifted One. A victory that brings its own problems." He clinked his bottle with hers and leaned back.

"Remind me why we can't have cable here again?"

"It is a distraction we cannot afford."

"Oh, I can afford it, Sister. Just put the bill in my name."

"Shut up, Cole." She took another sip. "It's been a long day."

"Whoah! The Majestrix shows she is almost mortal like the rest of us." She gave him an annoyed look. "I'm just teasing, Zealot." He let out a sigh. "What have we gotten ourselves into? It's like having some weird almost teenage daughter except that she propositioned me."

"She would be sorely disappointed with what you have to offer."

"I resent that, Zealot. I don't ever recall you complaining. We're good together..and not just as the Cabal's worst nightmare."

"That was a long time ago," she said turning her eyes away from him. He reached out to her, pulling her chin so she faced him. His eyes stared deeply into her own.

"Somehow I have a hard time believing that to someone who is thousands of years old it doesn't seem like yesterday." His voice had dropped to slightly above a whisper. The low gravelly tone made her shiver as it brought back some vivid memories.

"I.."she trailed off, caught in his gaze. She tried to push down the intense longing that rose up inside her. She was a woman who denied her personal fulfillment in favor of her role as a warrior. This man had already gotten through her barriers before. She had fought against her own feelings and thought she had finally regained control. She closed her eyes which made it worse. She was hit with his scent: a mix of cologne, beer and cigarettes. He took the gesture as consent rather than as an attempt to shut him out. She froze as she felt her partner closing the gap between them. His rough hand caressed her cheek. She was hyper aware of the heat radiating from his body. Every sense was tingling with his proximity.

"You can't tell me what happened right before this gig didn't mean anything."

"We…talked about this…it was a moment of weakness.." she replied.

"Bullshit." She felt his breath against her earlobe. He was moving in to kiss her now. His hand was on her knee. She had exactly three seconds to stop this. A decision had to be made. If this didn't stop she knew where it would lead. Passion had never been their problem as much as their weakness.

"Hey, do you guys have another beer for-" Voodoo paused when she saw the compromising position her new companions were in. "me?" She smiled. "I wasn't interrupting anything was I?"

Grifter reluctantly pulled away from Zealot, a few strands of her hair running through his fingers. She retreated to the opposite side of the sofa. He sighed in resignation.

"No, nothing at all. Grab a beer, Pris. Just remember it's going to be an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's going to suck. I'm used to working nights."

"I bet you are, sweetheart." The girl was in tight jeans and a knotted shirt. He had a feeling she was still trying to distract him, make it easier to get into his mind. It was useless, but at least it was giving her some practice. She had a long way to go before she was going to be any good to them. Voodoo plopped down on the sofa with her beer next to Grifter.

With her mind suddenly registering what had almost happened Zealot put her game face back on.

"I'm going to prepare for tomorrow." She advised as she bolted. Grifter's eyes followed her out of the room. He carried an expression of profound disappointment. Voodoo pretended she didn't notice that the man's fixation on his absent partner.

"So, Cole, tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know, Pris?" He took a sip of beer and sank back into the sofa5.

"Well it sounds like you weren't born into this alien war thing. Was there a time, long, long ago that you were just another person who had no clue about this war going on? Did you have a family? A job? You didn't just fall from space one day and become 'Grifter, superhero?"

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Well without cable what else is there to do?" Voodoo was an expert at getting men to talk. Men loved to talk about themselves and she had learned the tricks of getting men to share their secrets and open their wallets to her pretty early. If the direct approach didn't work she had other ways. It was give and take. Grifter and Zealot expected her to trust them implicitly but she couldn't trust people who weren't willing to open up in kind.

"All right. I'm from Chicago. I have a brother but really Zealot's the closest thing to family that I have. Before partnering up with her I just did…odd jobs…for other people and before I did that I was in the service doing the dirty work for the government, before I was in the service I was younger than you and in way over my head."

"Sounds like you've had a hard time, like you deserve a break." She had that look again, that look like she was trying to be your friend or your lover but she really was just trying to stay a step ahead. Still, it had been a long time since he had company besides Zealot so he conversed with her.

"It's not so bad. So you're not from D.C. originally? I just skimmed your dossier."

He knew this game too apparently.

"Dossier? Seriously? I'm from Montana originally. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I went where I could get the best scholarship but lo and behold D.C. costs a little more to live in than a student stipend covers. I took up dancing on a lark and I was good at it. It more than paid the rent that's for sure."

Grifter chuckled at her.

"Yeah, I guess neither of us saw 9 to 5 as the way to pay the bills. I was based out of D.C. for a while. It was different then, but still a pricy town to try to get by in." The beers added up as they talked about some of their favorite places in the city. Both had definitely partaken in the night life. Voodoo found herself forgetting that she was just trying to gain the upper hand. It was the first time in a while a guy wasn't trying to get anything sexual from her. What he wanted from her was probably worse overall. He wouldn't force her to join their battle but her help would be advantageous and in exchange she would be protected. Right now they were just two lonely people sharing a conversation. They both had a decent buzz on.

"Zealot won't go easy on you," he told her. "Plus it's been a long couple days for me and you're sitting on my bed here."

"So I gotta let the old man get some sleep, eh?" She elbowed him. She was feeling the booze pretty bad.

"'Fraid so, Pris."

"What if I don't want to call it a night just yet..?" She placed her hand on his arm. This time was a lot more genuine than the earlier attempt. Her eyes were that clear blue so many of the Kherubim seemed to possess.

"Thanks, but I think you need to go on off to bed..on your own. Goodnight, Pris."

"Goodnight, Cole." Voodoo retired to her room slowly. When she closed the door she knew there would be no knock. Maybe it was some sort of Stockholm syndrome, but she was becoming fond of her handsome captor.

HALO Industries

Void has been resting in a meditative state for hours when her eyes suddenly shot open.

"I have found her!" This exclamation was announced mid teleport to the penthouse apartment of Jacob Marlowe. Marlowe reluctantly got out of bed as Void related the location of the Gifted One to him. Within five minutes he was dressed and taking the elevator to the team's quarters to gather his band of superheroes. He summoned Spartan, Warblade and Maul to the briefing room. The perpetually ready Spartan was there in moments. Void and Marlowe advised him of the current developments while they awaited the others.

"Warblade, Maul, Void has located the girl. She has only traveled a short distance within the country. We will be departing with fifteen minutes. Be ready for anything."

"And someone start some coffee," Marlowe chimed in. "This superhero business is going to be the death of me." There was a lot of grumbling within the team but they knew this was their chance to correct earlier blunders. This was their second chance to prove themselves in the field.

They filed back into the room after suiting up. The tension was thick in the air as they quietly awaited their opportunity to let out frustration on the most convenient target. This time they would have the element of surprise on their side. Marlowe had elected to accompany them this time which upped the stakes a bit.

"I can't wait to get a shot at this guy. I've been itching for a real fight for a while."

"Be careful what you wish for, Reno. Void indicated this man is not alone. His partner could be even deadlier than he is."

"There's not a man alive that scares me, Spartan."

"Something just doesn't seem right," Maul said. "I'm not sure this is what it seems."

"What's to figure out? He has the girl. We need her. We are the good guys. End of story."

"Does that automatically make him one of the bad guys?"

"To assume otherwise would be naive, Jeremy. Let's just be ready for anything."