To Meet Again

Raiden had to reel in his emotions, he had to fight back control, he needed to concentrate. The smell of his beloved was close, he now just needed to figure out where it was coming from. He took a deep breath through his nose, he concentrated on the subtle flow of air around him. It was there, he opened his eyes and turned toward the directing that his other half would be. It didn't take long for Raiden to be standing in front of a little pub. She was sitting at the bar, her back to him. He could see she was watching the activity behind her, via the mirror at the bar. He walked in, taking a seat one stool down from her. He ordered a drink.

Once he walked closer to his beloved there was a new sent; that of fear. You hear people say they can smell fear, actually they smell stress hormones: cortisol, adrenaline, there are more, but, listing out stress hormones dose not sound as menacing as just stating you "can smell the fear". The level of fear that had permeated the thin ballistic material betrayed her calm demeanor. The new smell had Raiden on alert, never more would someone hurt or take away his beloved.

The ballistic vest was well concealed beneath the designer Italian men's shirt she wore. He knew the family, Marco was starting to take over for his grandfather. She had on a pair of off brand jeans, and a pair of running shoes that looked like they had a few miles on them. She wore a simple pair of earrings, a necklace that was tucked under the vest, and a simple ring on her right hand. Her hair was pulled back into a loose braid, with some loose strands of hair framing her face. Simple to the casual observer, yet if one took time to really look, the jewelry was expensive yet very understated.

Some people dressed to impress others, the woman next to him, dressed for herself, she didn't care if anyone noticed her, to a degree, that was what she wanted, to be the nobody in the crowd.

A foul smell interrupted his thoughts, as a young man sauntered up to the pub bar, b-lining towards the young pritty girl in the corner. The young man thought highly of himself, as he started flirting with the girl. The girl was not interested, and was trying to politely disengage in the one sided conversation, the young man was quite obnoxious and obtuse as he was not registering the message. Before he could step in, his beloved, took it into her own hands, to save the young girl. The verbal lashing was beautifully executed, his beloved never raised her voice, never changed her tone, she was calm and quite casual, but the words that followed cut deep.

By the time she was done, the young man took the offer for a cup off coffee, and went and sat by himself. For her effort, he mad sure there was a fresh pint of beer waiting for her. She was surprised to see the refilled beverage, Tiffany mentioned that it was from him "the nice smelling guy" that made him smile. Thus the ice was broken, for an introduction. She turned and smiled at him, her smile took his breath away.

Raiden commended her on the verbal lashing, thus starting their first conversation. It was interrupted as both of their phones dings with text alerts. They found out that they were on the same flight, and it was yet again delayed. Neither of them minded, it game them time to talk and sit down and relax for a meal. they decided to stay at the pub, but moved over to a table in the back corner away from the noise of the terminal and the bar. Tiffany was quick to come over and take their order, then left them to talk.

Sophia was not sure why she agreed to go sit with the man at the bar. She found out his name was Raiden, which the thought was a unique name, yet fit him perfectly. She felt comfortable with him, which confused and worried her a bit. At this point in her life getting comfortable around anyone could be a bad thing. It was a weird mix of feelings, she could feel that he could be dangerous, very dangerous, yet she felt safe around him. maybe all this stress was getting to her. Because for some odd reason she wanted to tell him everything that worried her and scared her, and that some how he would make it better. Yup she was loosing it.

Tiffany brought out their diners, and brought out one more round of drinks. Raiden was talking about going back to New Orleans to see family and friends, he asked why she was going. Trying not to be dead, Sophia decides that was probably not the best answer. She opted for a more standard socially acceptable answer.

"Food, music, history and culture."

Raiden smiled at that. He could help her will all of the above.

"You ever been down there before?"

"No, so I figured this was as good as time as ever."

Here was a way Raiden could stick close and not be seen as a creeper. He smiled.

"So what food are you looking most forward to?"

Sophia thought for a moment. "I love spicy food, so gumbo, would be first on the list."

Perfect, Raiden thought to himself. "Just so happens, I know of some of the best gumbo in the city."

Sophia raised her eyebrows questioning his assertion.

"Really, it's been voted some of the best in the city. It's an old family recipe that has been passed down for generations." He paused for a moment. "If you like I will take you there for lunch tomorrow. That is, if you don't already have plans."

Sophia smiled, the only plans she had was trying not to end up dead. So her schedule was pritty open. "That sounds great."

That was what Raiden was hoping for. "So where are you staying?"

Sophia thought for a moment. To tell or not to tell. She didn't know why but she felt safe with him. "I'm staying at a little motel, The Sunset Inn."

Raiden didn't even pause. "That place is a dump."

Sophia just shrugged her shoulders. "I can pay cash, it has a toilet, shower, bed and a door that locks. It's not like I plan on spending much time in the room."

This was totally not acceptable to Raiden. He thought quick. Jack, Jack had a place, and she would be safe when he was not around. He would rather her stay with him and his family, but being someone she just met, he didn't think that would go over well. She was in danger, she may not of come out and said what the danger was yet, but he knew it was there, and he planned on doing everything in his power to keep her safe. He took a bite of his dinner. "How about this, I have a friend down there named Jack, he runs a boarding house, motel kind of place. Way better part of town, way better accommodation. Oh and you have a full kitchen that you can use."

Sophia smiled at the thought of the kitchen, she loved to cook, but that was the kind of place that they wanted a credit card, and it probably cost a lot more that The Sunset Inn. "I'm kind of trying to fly under the radar right now." There was a bit of defeat in her voice and body language. Sophia didn't mean to tell him so much but she just could not help herself. "I'm kind of on the run." She could see the concern on his face. "It's kind of one of those weird wrong place, wrong time, dead if you do, dead if you don't kind of things."

Raiden listened and watched Sophia as she talked. "I always thought the phrase was "Damned if you do, damned if you don't. "."

Sophia gave a sad smile. "I'm well passed damned."