[i]A collab between [@Rawk] and myself[/i]

[hr]
“Well, yeah, since you’re asking, I’ll have-” Strangely enough, Vin had to think about Jennifer’s offer of a drink, knowing he hadn’t even eaten anything since… “Eh, maybe just a water for right now. If I don’t get some food inside me soon I probably won’t make it out of this apartment.” He smirked, and then glanced around. “Which wouldn’t be bad, all things considered.”

He looked back at Nate, who was mumbling incoherent nonsense under his breath and rocking back and forth with his hands pressed against his head like a disturbed child. Vin leaned closer to him. “Hey bro, are you-”  At that moment, Nate stood up, grabbed his coat, and booked ass out the front door. “...Okay?” 

Vin stood up and shot Jennifer a baffled expression. “What the hell just happened?” He then quickly ran to the front door, swung it open, and found nothing but an empty hallway. "Shit!, really?..." He closed the door, and strolled over to the kitchen area. 

"Well...maybe I'll take a stronger drink afterall." 

"Looks like he's currently having a bad case of existential crisis," Jennifer smirked, fetching for some of the stronger stuff for Vin, "but if I were you, I wouldn't worry about him. The guy may get off on annoying the hell out of us, but he's not stupid. He can take care of himself, that much I know."

Vin sat down on the bar stool along the kitchen island, propping his head up with one arm atop the counter, and watching Jennifer floating from one side of the kitchen to the other as she went about her business. 

"Hey, thanks for allowing us to stay here, even if it's only temporary. And uh, I'm not even sure I ever gave you my name." He grinned. "Although I guess this is really the first time any of us have had a chance to breathe. But anyway, my name is Vincent...or, Vin if you prefer."

"Vin...Vincent. I don't know, either one works for me. But there's no use in introducing myself," Jennifer added, pouring him some whiskey on a short glass before sliding it over to his side of the counter. "If you didn't know my name by now, then you wouldn't be able to sit in my kitchen with only a towel wrapped around your waist. That, and you're a decent-looking guy." 

That last bit she said with a smile, but she turned around before Vin could notice. Jennifer reached for some ham and cheese from her fridge, then grabbed the few slices of bread that were left in her pantry. 

"Here, this should hold us over until we're able to leave," she dropped the ingredients next to Vin's drink. "Make me a sandwich, please? I know we're not [i]that[/i] familiar with each other yet, but it's a small price to pay to be in my presence." She laughed a little, wondering what in the world prompted her to say such a thing. "Be right back," she added, heading to one of the small closets to grab a broom.

"Yes ma'am!" He mocked a salute in her direction, and started throwing together a couple of sandwiches, using up the rest of the meat and cheese between the two, knowing that this might be their last meal for quite awhile. It was only then, as he took a couple of bites, that the realization hit him. "Shit...where does all this leave us?" He mumbled to himself as he chewed. 

Vincent's life had been relatively free of any real problems that he couldn't handle. In fact, he'd always felt in control, even when he wasn't, but this time things changed and the cards he once held guaranteeing a "sure thing", became random and unpredictable. These powers were obviously not under the normal rules for human living, and moreso, whatever was living inside him certainly wasn't of this world. [i]Or was it?[/i] He examined at the myriad of tattoos along his arm once again, but still didn't see anything that was out of place.

"Hey JJ?...do you have a phone I can use?" He said aloud, slightly garbled by the food in his mouth. Vin needed answers, and perhaps reaching out to the one guy he [i]could[/i] trust, the one he knew who had extensive knowledge on the inks used in the tattoo industry, might bring some sense of closure.

"Go ahead, it's in my room charging. Don't mind the mess."

“I wouldn’t dream of looking at all your feminine shit lying about.” He smirked, heading over toward her bedroom.

Jennifer walked back to the kitchen, catching a glimpse of Vin as he entered her bedroom. She caught herself staring at his tattoos, and then at him.

[i]Like he'd be interested in pursuing anything other than sex,[/i] she thought, reaching for her glass of wine before sweeping up Nate's mess. She threw the broken plate and the few ingredients that were on it in the trash, Nate's abrupt exit unexpectedly coming to mind again. Jennifer couldn't help but worry about him at this point. They had been on the news after all, and both of them had made an enemy out of that officer back in the hotel. Who's to say he wasn't looking to get revenge? 

Even though she wasn't as worried before, her concern had suddenly grown. With somewhat of a hurry, she grabbed her glass of wine and one of the sandwiches before checking on Vin's clothes. Hopefully it wouldn't take much longer. 

“Geez, what a mess…” He mumbled to himself, stepping over various pieces of clothing and reaching for the phone on the nightstand. He dialed James’ cell, and listened as the phone rang several times, before the voicemail picked up. “Shit”. He tried the number again with the same result. “C’mon man, you always pick up…”  Vincent was getting antsy, as he sat down on the edge of the bed, calling the number once more to leave a message this time. 

“James, it’s me. Look I know you’re probably pissed right now but I need your help bro. Can you-”

Vin was suddenly cut off by the auto-attendant advising him that his message was too long, and did he want to save it or re-record. Anything after that was blurred out by a barrage of curse words that flowed freely from Vin’s mouth. He held on to the phone and left Jennifer’s room in a hurry, almost running into her as he turned the corner to the laundry room, putting them inches from one another. 

“Shit, sorry!” He exclaimed, pausing for a moment and staring into her intense brown eyes, before snapping himself back to earth. “Oh...I see my clothes are done.” He said with a sheepish grin, noticing Jennifer holding them.

"Uh, yeah, here you go." Jennifer handed Vin his clothes, unsure of why she felt a little bit nervous being within such close proximity of him. "Get dressed and maybe we can have some real food to eat before we go look for Nate. He seemed a bit distraught and, well, we're both wanted..." 

Jennifer was rambling on, but she stopped herself mid-sentence to take another sip of wine, her eyes on Vin as she gulped down the drink. "Don't take too long, okay?" she smiled, poking his chest with her finger. The drink was having a quicker effect on her than expected. 

Vincent…[i]well[/i], being Vincent, would have totally taken advantage of the fact that the chick he was finding himself falling for was already riding the express train into tipsy-land, but this wasn’t the time for it, and she deserved better. Not that he would blame her, considering the psychotic, and apparently, bloody massacre he'd been responsible for earlier. Why the hell would she even want to be near him? Vin slipped back into her room and changed as quickly as he could, buttoning up his shirt while he walked back out into the living room. 

“Here, by the way…” Vin handed Jennifer the phone, before heading toward the front door. “So, where do we start looking?”