They arrived at the diner five minutes after the lunch crowd had filed in. The place was packed solid with locals, drive by truckers and the odd family-of-four who were coming back from Florida. Dean reserved one of the three picnic tables located just outside the front entrance by sitting atop it and resting his feet on the seats while Vala ran in and ordered a handful of bacon cheeseburgers, fries and coffee. The waitress put the order in and Vala was handed two paper bags within minutes, just as a pack of old man bikers sauntered in. It was one of the things she loved about the joint. They were experts in quick service.

Vala took the greasy bags and coffee out to the table. She took a seat on the table next to him, placing the bags down between their almost touching legs.

Dean pulled open a bag and dug right in, swallowing half a burger in one bite. Vala smiled, shaking her head a little and ate hers with less enthusiasm. He polished off three grease ball burgers in the time she ate her one.

Vala started on her coffee, it having cooled enough for her to drink it, abandoning the fries in the bag. She was beginning to have chest pains from watch Dean scarf his food down.

He opened the second bag as she took a swig of her liquid caffeine. Dean pulled out the two soggy cardboard containers and offered Vala a choice of which she'd prefer while still masticating the cow in his mouth.

Vala stuck a hand out and shook her head, declining any more anti-nutrition, and swallowed the coffee she had taken in.

The bikers exited the building and took up residence at the table one over from Vala and Dean. Neither of them looked in the direction of the aging biker gang, but Vala made slight note anyway, using only her peripherals.

There were four of them, each with their own customized hog. They weren't just weekend riders, they were hardcore biker boys. All in their mid-fifties, leather-clad vests with matching pants and boots. Three quarters of the clan wore matching bandanas, the odd man out choosing to keep his shaved head free from cloth. It was obvious from their interactions and the arrangement in which they sat who was the leader, second in command, the hot-head enforcement and the guy who tagged along. Vala had seen too many bikers on her travels not to notice the pattern.

Dean slowed his forceful eating and coughed to get Vala's attention. She tilted her head slightly as Dean tapped two fingers on the table, followed by three.

Vala recognised the code as something she'd learned from Bobby. Two fingers for visual, three as the target number. Make Note of Number Three.

Vala gave a minor nod to let him know she understood and made note of the hot-head with the Tasmanian Devil tattooed on his upper arm. He was staring at them.

"You be okay out here a second?" Dean asked in a whisper, watching the enemy with his warning stare as Vala pulled the car keys from her back pocket.

"You be okay to drive?" she asked back.

Vala's phone chirped that she'd received a text message, but she ignored it for the time being. It was probably just Linney anyway.

"I think so, but why?"

She discreetly placed the keys between them and Dean pocketed them.

"Instinct. I'll be fine. Go."

Dean put his hand on her knee, partly to help his still sore body up off the bench and partly to tell the old men not to bother her, and he headed inside for the bathroom.

Dean's half-assed attempt to make a statement fell short by a mile. As soon as he was through the entrance, the third man began his walk to her table.

Vala had to keep from smiling to herself. He walked like he was trying to impress her, but she wanted nothing more than to laugh in his face for it. It was more akin to something Monty Python would write a sketch about.

He stopped short in front of her, trying to get her to make eye contact with him while she stared straight out into space. It visibly aggravated him that she was ignoring his presence.
"Oh!" She pretended to be startled. "I didn't see you there."

Biker Guy Number Three smiled charismatically and waved off the inconvenience of having to work for her attention.

"Someone as downright lovely as you should never be startled by someone such as me."

Vala pulled a face at the crap lines she was given. Even she felt she was worth a better effort than that.

"Seriously?"

He ignored her and continued, extending his hand out like a seventeenth century nobleman, though he came off as a court jester, silently asking for hers. The whole situation was too good not to play into. She smiled slyly, knowing she was going to destroy this man. She began to offer her hand, acting as if she was going to let him touch her.

"The name's Walter."

Vala recoiled her hand as fast as a cobra would strike and didn't bother to contain her laugher.

"Seriously? WALTER! You could have used Walt, or lied about your fucking name." Vala stood on the seat of the table and hopped down, landing next to Walter the Hardcore Skinhead Biker Boy as Dean reappeared at the entrance.

Walter grabbed Vala's wrist as she tried to walk past him and Dean pushed the glass door open in a fury to get to her.

"HEY!" Dean let his husky voice ring. "LET 'ER GO."

Vala smiled her evil grin at Walter and kept the eye contact with her new found enemy as she spoke to Dean.

"It's okay babe, I got this."

Walter smiled back at her, reading all the signals wrong. Just the way she wanted him to. He looked up to a raging Dean and repeated back.

"Yeah Babe. She's got this."

Dean was giving the bald man his sinister glare, but smiled when he saw Vala counting down behind her back with her broken hand. 3..2..1

The creeper turned his eyes back to her and she hit him hard with a vicious head butt. WAL-ter stumbled back a little, dizzy on his feet, and Vala took the opportunity to give him a nice left hook to his chin.

Dean saw the three amigos look at each other in confusion, unsure as to whether they should help their friend. Dean gave them a little head nod to help them decide.

"Hey." He offered in a friendly tone.

Hot head's friends were smarter than him and sat back down, but continued to watch as Vala let him have it.

Walter stumbled back a little more, sliding and nearly falling in the gravel drive. Vala stood on his foot and kicked his knee in, effectively breaking the cap while he let out a little wail of a whimper. With only one good leg he wasn't going to stand for long. Vala smiled again and called his name.

"Hey Walter."

When Walter looked up, in a state of stupor, Vala gave him a classic high-kick in the face, surprising everyone who had gathered to watch. Walter flew back and hit the ground with his ass hard. He rested there, afraid and unable to get up.

Dean started over to her in a light jog when he realized she very well might finish him off in the parking lot of the diner in broad daylight with twenty patrons now watching from the windows.

Vala pushed the ball of her foot onto the pressure point on the back of his hand, effectively keeping him there for as long as she wanted. She leaned down to whisper to him as Dean met up to the scene just behind her.

"If I ever find out that you've touched another woman without asking first I'll hunt you down and personally turn your dick into a Christmas ornament. And believe me, I'll find out."

Dean ran his fingers down her back as she slowly stood.

Vala took Dean's hand from him, wrapping his arm around her waist, pressing his hand lightly on her stomach in an effort to help steady her.

"Alright babe you proved your point." Dean said, knowing he had to get her to the car quickly.

He ignored the man withering on the ground and walked Vala around to the passenger side of the GTO, opening the door for her to scoot in.

Once inside, he closed it and walked back around the back of the vehicle, giving a half-salute as he went.

Dean sat in the driver's seat and revved the engine before peeling out, kicking stones and dirt up as they left, the crown still in shock.

He looked to Vala as his phone beeped, warning him that there was a voicemail waiting. She was pressing the back of her head firmly into the headrest, he eyes closed tight. He reached over, glancing between her and the road, and swept the hair from the side of her face behind her ear. Even with the welt scurrying its way to the surface of her forehead she was a beauty to behold.

"Jesus Vala, what was that?"

"Instinct."

"Never let me forget that you scare the crap out of me woman."

"Please Dean; just get me to Bobby's. I need a bottle of fucking aspirin and some whisky."

Dean drove in silence, half turned on and half afraid for his life.