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Time and place were arranged, and Dave offered rides to anyone that needed transportation.

Sammy's mom brings her, and comes in with the excuse of picking up some carry out for dinner.  She briefly introduces herself to Alicia's mother, exchanges the appropriate alert mom secret passwords and handshakes, is introduced to Alicia and anyone else who is there, then leaves.

Sammy shucks her coat and and an underlying fleece jacket, and sits down.

The place is Dino's Pizza, your stereotypical hole-in-the-wall pizza place, but with a very homey feel once you get in the doors. The guy in charge, who's name not surprisingly is not Dino, ushers any arrivals to the back, where a set of tables have been arranged to accommodate the horde.

Consuelo Vega is there, greeting everyone. She assumedly has come straight from work, based on what she's wearing; modest blouse, business-like skirt and high heels. She happily greets Sammy's mom and makes sure to thank Sammy for helping Alicia feel welcome at her new school. One of the things exchanged between moms will be addresses and phone numbers.

At the table are small sheets of paper, listing a selection of toppings. The kids are encouraged to select what they'd like on their pizzas, and choose a beverage from the list (cola, diet cola, lemon-lime soda, root beer, iced-tea).

John tries to arrive on time.  He's immediately scolded by Consuela for not having worn a warm enough coat.  He tries to divert her by giving her a tin of cookies, "My mom doesn't let me go as a dinner guest without a gift for the hostess.  They're all organic, very low sodium."  She smiles and offers him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Consuelo gestures towards the table where Sammy is already seated.

"Take a seat and choose what you'd like on your pizza. I'm sorry Alicia isn't here to greet you. Something must've kept her." Despite the smile in her face, the tone indicates she expects a damn good reason for the delay when her daughter finally arrives.

Andrew Gruffudd pulls his car into a parking space out front and glances at the dashboard clock.

"Damn, we're a little late. Hope you'll be okay with your mother, Alicia," he says as all three pile out of the car. He gives his son a significant look, in answer to which Rhys just rolls his eyes.

"Everything will be fine, dad. Come on."

For the meeting with Consuelo, Rhys has toned down his usual look a little. He's (apparently, anyway) wearing a long-sleeved button-up shirt to cover his tattooed arms, and his black hair is styled neatly rather than hanging in a long ponytail. He looks like a perfectly respectable youth, trying to give goldenboy John a run for his money.

Alicia bites her lip, but assures the elder Gruffudd, "It's all right, thank you for bringing us!"

She grips Rhys' hand tightly as they enter the establishment. The phrase "nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs" comes easily to mind.

She herself is dressed conservatively, at least for her. Well-loved sneakers, slender jeans, T-shirt with a faded design, worn army jacket, and the everpresent shades and gloves.

Andrew follows the teens into the pizza place. He introduces himself to Consuelo and makes all the necessary pleasantries, although it is not hard to tell that he does find her very attractive, at least physically. He exchanges address and phone numbers as Sammy's mom did.

Rhys fidgets slightly at the prospect of meeting Alicia's mother.

Sylvia is there.  She's standing on a nearby table, doing a funky bump and grind to the upbeat oldies that play over the restaurant speakers.  Her feet are in someone's piping-hot deep-dish combo, but no one at that table seems to mind.  She sings, and no one hears her.  "Ow, gi-ive up the funk.  Gotta have that funk. . . . "

Astral travel is great.

OOC: :spittake:

Meanwhile one of the Astral Watchers looks at the other gazing into this scene, shakes his head, and mutters, "There goes the neighborhood." ;D

Consuelo raises an eyebrow at Alicia's arrival, then smiles sweetly at being introduced to the Gruffudd's.

"Rhys, it's great to finally meet you. Alicia has told me so much about you."

She eyes the elder Gruffudd appreciatively and has no problem exchanging contact information. With a sincere voice, she asks, "Have you eaten dinner yet, Andrew? They make a very delicious lasagna here."

OOC: And in case it's needed... Fate (1d20=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1879235/) D'oh!

"You too, Mrs. Vega." Rhys looks between mother and daughter marvelling at the attractive pair, before catching sight of the way his father is looking at Consuelo.

Oh, no...


"Actually, no, I haven't yet. Thank you so much. But I'm not sure Rhys wants his old man hanging around," he says, glancing at Rhys. Rhys gives him shooing motions with his eyes.

Go on, scabber off...

{Fate: 1d20=10 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1879242/)}

OOC: So either Consuelo will demur, tucking Andrew's info somewhere safe for later use, or she'll suggest the two depart for another place to eat, leaving the group free to scheme and Rhys and Alicia to contemplate the horror. And the Fate rolls decree... ;D

Sammy can't help but notice how awfully uncomfortably Rhys is looking at his father, and how... well, how his father is looking at Alicia's mom.  She giggles.  "John!" she whispers, "do we do something inappropriate to break up this moment and possibly save Rhys and Alicia from being siblings, or do we sit back and watch the show?  That waitress has a tray of ice water; it'd be soooo easy to spill it."

John goes to get up, the table cloth tucked into his pants.  Things on the table shift, he fumbles, then falls backwards, his head hitting the tray and sending the picture of ice water tumbling, the waitress falling, and then the whole mess crashing to he floor.  The waitress manages to not fall, but somehow ends up sitting in a chair that wasn't in the way a second before, and John lays on the floor covered in the debris from the table.  "sorry."  He says meekly.

Consuelo stands frozen as the fiasco unfolds, then moves quickly to attend the fallen John. "Are you all right? Here, let me help you." She fusses over John in the expectedly motherly fashion.

Alicia stares at Sammy with narrowed eyes. She'd heard everything the girl had said, and wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or grateful.

"Sorry.  I'm a little clumsy."  John says, letting Consuela help him up.  He's used to being mothered, and doesn't fuss too much as he gets cleaned up.

Rhys wonders at what's really going on. Seeing Alicia looking in Sammy's direction, he assumes she's watching Consuelo and John. John didn't seem that clumsy... Was it deliberate? If so, why?

He looks over at his father, gratified to see that he looks confused, too; unsure whether to help or leave. Unfortunately, he decides to help.

Andrew comes over to where Consuelo is fussing over John, offering the boy a hand up.

Alicia may be shooting daggers at Sammy, but Rhys is doing the same to John.

Jakob lopes into the pizza place and stops short when he sees the mess on the floor - and gets an eyeful of Alicia's mom.

"Man, you guys really know how to throw a pizza party.  What's up?"

He hoists John to his feet and deposits him in a chair.  "Everyone OK?"

He sloughs off his flannel shirt (he's got a brand new-looking Property of Oak Park High School Football Team t-shirt on underneath) and finds a seat.  Then he catches the look in Alicia's eyes as she stares down Sammy and an unmistakable "here we go again" look settles into his face.

Consuelo smiles thankfully at Andrew's assistance. She greets Jakob warmly and offers him a seat.

She gives Alicia a look with the obvious message is this going to happen often? Alicia rolls her eyes in chagrin, gives a small shrug and pulls Rhys hurriedly to a spot on the table, making sure she's near Sammy.

Consuelo heads off to get help in cleaning up and Alicia whispers heatedly to Sammy, "What was that? Are you getting your dating tips from Saved By The Bell?"

Sammy saw the glare, hears the heat.  She thinks about the counselor's business card.  She shrugs, slightly apologetically.  "I didn't think he'd really do it.  Sorry, John."

Alicia facepalms, then, surprisingly, chuckles. "All we needed was the prat fall sound effect and laugh track."

She gives an amused look to Sammy. "Here's a quick lesson about Latina women, chica. The best way to draw their attention to something is to try and hide it from them.

"Mami is probably planning to get Mr. Grif-fiss aside so she can find out all she can about Rhys. She knows better than to get involved with my boyfriend's dad." Saying it out loud, though, causes the worm of doubt to burrow into Alicia's mind.

She wouldn't do that, really. Right?

"So I'm your boyfriend now?" Rhys snuggles up against her, a big grin on his face.

Alicia bites back an instinctive retort. Dammit! Why does him acting smoochy get my back up?

Forcing herself to relax, she sighs and leans against him, her voice a soft purr. "Do you have a more appropriate term, perhaps?"

Sarah, practicing a Colin entrance, pipes up from amidst the group suddenly, "I just call him new kid."  She introduces herself to Mr. Gruffudd and Alicia's mom when she can and joins in the fun.  "Have we ordered yet?  Are we getting everything or.. Oh cards, neat." 

She looks at the paper.  "Eww.  They actually have anchovies listed.  For some reason I always thought that was an urban legend.  Ick."

The grin turning wicked, he leans in close and whispers. "No, but I know I have a less appropriate one."

Alicia lowers her head so she can see Rhys over her shades, a matching grin on her face.

"You promised to behave. Don't make me have to spank you later," she whispers back in a bedroom voice.

Consuelo is surprised when Sarah shows up out of nowhere but quickly takes it in stride. She welcomes Sarah and shows her the table and the set-up.


Alicia tilts her head. "You don't like anchovies? They're like the best topping ever!"

She doesn't whisper quietly enough.
"I am.  I knew it," Sammy mutters resignedly to herself.  "I am the last virgin in the Chicago metropolitan area."

"Anchovies are really good, you loon. Don't listen to the blasphemous rumors." Donnie says as he is escorted by a waitress into the back room. He is hunched and looks uncomfortable despite the thick multi-colored wool coat he ears. While not utterly ostentatious, it certainly is eye-catching along with his rather retro haircut. The jacket is, of course, courtesy of the amazing talents of Mitzi and a recent Christmas present. Sylvia is here, in a way, even though not physically.

He helps himself to a drink as the group settles down, taking a seat near Sarah after introducing himself to Alicia's totally hot mom.

Consuelo once again performs her role as hostess, introducing herself to Donnie, complimenting his choice of attire, pointing out the layout and standing back to let the kids socialize.

Alicia is momentarily nonplussed at the support from an unexpected quarter. She recovers and greets Donnie, "Thanks for coming. Was Sylvia not able to make it?"

Alicia pats Sammy's hand sympathetically and says in a soothing voice. "I'm sorry, chica. If you want, I can help you find someone to have some hot monkey love, and that way you won't feel left out."

She puts a possessive hand on Rhys's arm. "Not Ree-is, though. I'm not sharing him," she says, with an impish grin.

Donnie shakes his head. "She's anti-pizza. You should see the stuff they eat in her house and dare call it pizza. Soy cheese should be considered cruel and unusual punishment."  He shudders theatrically.

"Oh." Alicia frowns. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should have done another thing. I wouldn't want her to feel left out."

Donnie looks intently at Alicia to let her know he was not just being flippant. "It's okay. Going hermetic is sometimes her way of dealing. Believe me, I know. I've driven her there before." His eyes go downcast for a moment, and dart over to John, who no doubt can hear everything being said. Likely in the whole frikken restaurant.

"Okay," Alicia acquiesces, although a slight frown remains on her face for a while.

Sarah shivers at the notion of little fuzzy fish on perfectly good pizza.  "I'm glad you enjoy them.  I'll just have sausage and mushroom thanks."  

Fish heads, fish heads, rolly polly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up
Yumm!
fish pizza eating freaks.


Sarah says, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.  I have a very good imagination and in my happy little imaginary world that was never said.  Lalalala.  Also Sammy, you are dazed and confused if you think you hold that title."

"Right.  You're not the only one."  John says, then takes a drink.

Meanwhile, behind Donnie, Sylvia walks on her hands from right to left.  Her felted bedroom slippers, which go with her home-sewn flannel pajamas, paddle through the air above his head as she goes.

Astral Watcher #1: Now she's just being silly.
Astral Watcher #2: Oh, do be quiet, lest I remind you of what you did at last year's office party.
Astral Watcher #1: That's the last time I mix ambrosia and root beer.

;D

Sammy snorts, just a little.  Whether its in response to Alicia not sharing (Rhys would encourage other ideas, Sammy would bet big money on that) or the virgin thing, its not certain.

She sticks with pepperoni and green pepper.  Her dad once told her about ordering pizza when he lived in Navy barracks.  Apparently the trick was to order the pizza with fish on it, so that nobody would mooch food and you'd make it back to your room from the watch desk with everything you ordered.  Then you picked off the fish and ate your pizza.  Since there is no mooch obstacle course to be run here, she gets what she likes.

She sits and tries not to think about the unfinished math homework waiting for her attention.  For some peculiar reason, she feels the urge to bop and sing along with the archaic music coming out of the house music system.

"Ow, gi-ive up the funk.  Gotta have that funk. . . . "

Alicia checks every meat item on the list, including anchovies. When delivered, she spends at least a minute with her head over her plate, inhaling the sweet sweet scent of cooked animal.

She then proceeds to fastidiously pick every bit of meat off her pizza and pop it in her mouth, finally using the denuded crust to sop up any remaining grease off her plate before finshing it off.

All the while she keeps sending glances over where Andrew and Consuelo are sitting a discreet distance away and chatting, a couple of times either wincing or chuckling at something said.

Once everyone's settled with food and drink, she opens the floor. "So, what's the plan for this Mike vato?"

"Brooks.  It's Mike Brooks."  John says as he eats another slice of pizza.

Alicia waves a hand. "Whatever."

She leans forward, talking softly enough to keep the conversation private to the table. "So, this Brooks guy, you guys have past history with him? Sarah sounded like you'd dealt with him before."

Sarah thinks about it for a minute.  She sips her soda before starting, "Mike Brooks and Preston Wilde are a couple of the science brainchilds here in Oakpark.  Together they were hoarding lust gas in a closet near one of the science labs.  We lost track of them because... well we forgot.  We were burning bwitches at the stake around then and things were kind of confusing.  One of them, and I can't remember if it's Brooks or Wilde is into robotics.  The other was into chemistry I think.  They've shown up as possible suspects for events but never anything solid.  I don't trust them but I haven't heard a reason to harass them."

She looks at John Donnie and Sammy hopefully, "Anything else you can fill in?  You've all got better memories than me."

Sammy has a very weird expression on her face.  Kind of like she tastes something bad, or is being forced to revisit a memory she has tried very hard to forget.

"Oh.  Yeah.  I don't have a lot to add.  I was the one who was hospitalized because of the smoke, remember?  And I was the one kidnapped from the hospital to be the witches sacrifice.  Then El whisked me and my mom and sister away to California to give me some recovery time.  I've talked to Preston a couple of times.  He's smart, and doesn't look dangerous.  He looks like a nice, clean cut guy.  I don't remember too much else because I was under the influence of love goo when I first met him. "  She flushes and does NOT look at John.  She stares very hard at the table.  "When I talked to him after that, he didn't seem awful.  Just really interested in his robots.  Its all mental olympics events for him."

Alicia looks curiously at Sammy during her discourse, noting her discomfort. I wonder if her claim to virginity is partly wishful thinking in her part. She knows better than to press the matter.

She does make a mental note to track down the ones truly responsible for this "love goo" thing and make sure they realize the error of messing around with other people's minds. A feral grin crosses her face at the thought.

A random thought sparks in her mind. "Hey, were either of them involved in that rogue robot going berserk last week? Maybe one of them, or even both, set it up as a cover for greasing Gena."

"No.  Those guys weren't really part of the geek set."  John says, he's been staring at his plate for a while.  "Those two were just curious.  But I'd bet money if Wilde had gotten his hands on that thing we'd have never seen it.  He'd have taken it apart instead of trying to jump start it."

Sarah asks John, "So what would Wilde do with robot arms?  What if he made them?  Would he let his friend Mike run around with them and give them a field test?"

Alicia won't let go of the idea so easily. "So maybe it was the Brooks guy who did it. For all we know, Preston had the robot and Mikey 'borrowed' it."

She seems stuck on the idea of the attack being a diversion.


Another lightbulb pops in Alicia's eyes.

"Maybe Mike 'borrowed' the tentacles from Preston, too! And Preston's too scared to call him out on it!"

Alicia shows a certain enthusiasm for amateur sleuthing. "We should track this Preston guy down and sweat him; get him to tell us what his part on this whole thing is."

She grins, showing a slightly frightening zeal with the idea of upcoming confrontation.

"He could certainly have reverse engineered them.  I think Colin suspected Preston of having made the robots that robbed the armored car and the jewelry store a while back, I think."  John takes a drink of water and shrugs, "I don't know how close they are."

Alicia nods excitedly. "So Preston's our main lead. I bet if we corner him we can make him squeal on Mike."

Sammy looks up.  "I don't think Preston would let somebody just joy ride.  He seemed protective of his creations, and I think he'd get worked up about it if somebody took them without permission.  But maybe, if he was building them for somebody else?  I don't know."  She balls up a napkin.  "I think Preston just wants to get a scholarship to Cal Tech or MIT.  Barring a scholarship, admittance and enough money to pay for the ride.  I wonder if Mike has money, or if he knows somebody who will buy what Preston makes.  Or maybe robbery is going to pay for everything."

She looks at Alicia.  "And we're not 'sweating' or 'cornering' Preston, not without cold hard facts on our side.  He's been accused before and was rather insulted by it if I remember right."  She rubs at her forehead.  "But I might be mistaken.  It might not have been him.  A lot of that is jumbled up in my head."

Sammy pushes herself back from the table and grabs her coats.  "I'll be back in a couple of minutes.  I'm going to walk to the drug store down the street and buy some Tylenol.  I'm getting a headache.  I'll be right back."

Alicia sees Sammy leave with a frown on her face. After she's gone, Alicia looks at Sarah and John.

"Is she all right? Am I missing something?"

Sarah shakes her head and says, "She's just being Sammy.  If she's still on her scent kick she's convinced herself that the pepperoni mixed with her pheromones set you off and left before a brawl broke out.  Or she's found something else to be troubled by.  Just let it slide because everything will be different in another ten minutes anyway.  Usually is."

Alicia bites her lip. "I hope it's not my screwing up that's got to her."

Or maybe me hooking up with Rhys is bothering her. They're both into music and they were playing together so well back on Saturday. I wonder is she had feelings for him and now I've stepped in and that's got her bummed out. Oh crap. I said 'boyfriend' and she started getting down. Crap, crap, crap.

Her thoughts start chasing each other around in her head, leaving her troubled. She nibbles on a bit of anchovy, worrying it unmercifully.

"Nah," says Sarah, "Well I don't know exactly, but Sammy doesn't usually need a lot of help so don't worry.  If it is something, when she's ready, she'll talk about it.  Maybe.  So don't sweat it.  Please don't sweat it.  Not after all those anchovies you've scarfed.  Eww."

Alicia looks mock-offended. "Women don't sweat. Horses sweat, men perspire, women glow," she recites, her nose in the air.

Sammy flees from the restaurant into the cold winter air and heads down the street in the direction of the drugstore.

I wish I had amnesia.  I wish I could quit being embarrassed by that stupid love goo kiss.  I really wish I could just forget about those witches, about almost being their sacrifice.  I don't want to talk about them, or even think about anything to do with that night.  Ever.  It makes me sick.  And Rob is just there, day after day, doing?

She dodges water dripping down from an overhead sign.  And Alicia... arrgh!  I'm going to have to babysit Preston now, just to make sure she doesn't go in there and rough him up before there's proof of anything.  Gah.  Air.  I need more air.

"Sammy seems to attract angst. Sometimes she looks for it, but often she finds herself in the middle of it." Donnie gets up and goes to a nearby window. After a moment of concentration he returns to the table. "Pip will keep an eye on her and rescue her if she finds trouble. He's good like that."

He picks up his last piece of pizza and waves it at Sarah. "One piece left, extra anchovies. Wanna split it, Sarah?"

He turns to John. "Did you ever officially join the science club, John?"

"Pip? Who's Pip?" asks Rhys, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Ugh.  I know you only eat that to be a gross boy so stop trying to make me ill."

Thinking fresh air and exercise will do her more good than a pill, Sammy walks right on past the drugstore door when she gets to it.  She turns at the next corner.

Donnie grins and says "My imaginary dragon." He swirls his finger next to his temple to signify his on madness and takes a lascivious bite of the pizza, eyeing Sarah as he nibbles an anchovy that slipped off with his bite

Alicia tries to rein in the conversation back to more exciting topics.

"So, what is our next step? Are we talking to Preston, tailing Gena, checking out Mike, what?"

Rhys snorts but says nothing. He's wearing a rather peculiar grin, though.

"That's a good question."

He's more or less been following the conversation around the table and has been trying to be small.  After thirteen years on a farm with minimal contact with other kids he's at something of a loss at how to deal with the massive amount of sensory input and teenage angst he's been around over the last few days.
So, he's happy to focus on action - even if he has no idea who Preston, Gena, or Mike are.

"Yeah.  I go to the meetings.  Most of the kids there seem pretty cool.  Some are easily excited about their particular geek, whatever it might be, but they also seem excited when someone else shows off something cool.  Preston is on the club, but not Mike."

Alicia leans forward. "So you could get close to Preston, maybe ask some questions?"

John makes a face.  "Eh, we've done that once before.  And, I'm not what you might call subtle or really good with people."  he shrugs, "What would I ask him, have you built any robotic tentacles lately?"

"Why not? If Syl is nearby, she would be able to tell if he was lying or not. Maybe Colin too; I can't remember if he is a Human Lie Detector.." He looks towards Sarah for confirmation or denial.

"Sometimes knowing someone is on your trail might make you make a mistake; panic. Being the hunted can make one freeze up or make a wrong move, then you're dinner." Donnie smiles a not-so-nice smile.

"Or piss you off.  Preston seems more the type to get angry, like he did last time.  Like I said though, I'm not really good at reading people."

Alicia lips thin with a malicious smirk. "Under the right circumstances, that could be an acceptable question to ask."


Alicia cocks an eye towards Donnie, once again noting his support. Her mind goes back to a comment that Sarah had made.

"I think the scary thing is that you and Donnie are sort of alike but you're coming at it from different directions."

She'd dismissed the remark then, but now she's wondering how accurate it actually was.


"So let me and Donnie handle it." She gives a glance over to Donnie, flashing a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Why not? Maybe we could go at it from another angle too. What if we go to him and ask about it as if he were a resource? He is the go to guy for robotics stuff. If we ask for his opinion he might try and lead us on if he is involved. Or, he can be professionally jealous that someone else is angling in on his specialty. Either way, Syl can take a peek to see what he is thinking. That way he won't go away mad at us."

Sarah grins and says, "Hey fish really is brain food and you two have been gobbling it up all night.  I like that idea.  Plus it's not coming from me or Colin so he may not connect it back to the last incident."

Sammy walks up the street, past the middle school on Ridgeland.

Overhead, a little jade dragon rides the cold thermals, eye on his target below.

Alicia grins and gives a thumbs-up to Donnie. "So who gets to play the bad cop?" she asks with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"You are so totally Bad Cop. I am chubby newspaper guy with an odd haircut. I couldn't intimidate anything.." Donnie looks purposefully innocent.

Alicia nods in acknowledgement. "I could also play Distracting Slut. If he's as much a geek as he sounds, having a girl pay any attention to him might cause enough blood loss to his brain to have him slip up."

OOC:  John might remember that sort of worked for Sammy.  Of course, she was under the influence of Goo at the time.  Also, she was genuinely interested in his project, so he might have been reacting to that interest.

Rhys was unfortunately taking a drink of his soda when she says this. It comes out his nose as he begins to laugh uncontrollably, combined with coughing, choking and snorting. Much hilarity ensues.  ;D

"In this case that might be a poor choice. I think it was mentioned earlier, but the love-goo gas thing was targetting the morally lapse to teach them a lesson. He was a part of that. Playing up your sexy side might enrage him and distract him from our purpose in talking with him in the first place."

Alicia absent-mindedly smacks Rhys in the back of the head. "Idiota," she says with a mixture of chagrin and fondness.


Alicia frowns. "Wait, so you know that Preston was behind the love goo?" She cracks her knuckles, her face serious. "Yeah, I can be the bad cop."

"We do?"  John says.  "I really need to take notes."

"No.. that's the thing.  We didn't get anyone pinned down for anything," says Sarah. 

Alicia looks at Donnie and Sarah, then at John. "Yeah, what you said. Maybe with some diagrams and flowcharts, 'cause I'm like, totally lost here."

And, right on cue, Colin arrives, looking almost frozen.

"Hi, guys. I'm sorry, Alicia, I had a few errands to run that took longer than expected, and the wind hasn't been particularly helpful either. Have you already ordered?

Sylvia, spotting Colin, bounces up and down, waving frantically.  Her chatter cuts over whatever answer Colin gets from anyone else.  She is assuredly the most annoying spirit with which Colin has had to deal thus far.  "Hi hi hi.  I was hoping you'd be here sooner.  They've been talking about Preston and Mike and how they think Preston is just the idea man and Mike is the criminal.  I was going to get you to ask questions for me, but I think John's answered everything I would have asked.  Donnie's been eating anchovies.  Sarah hates anchovies.  Sammy got a headache and left, but I think it had to do with the usual sort-of-romantic troubles.  Sammy's soap opera is a little hard to follow.  What errands were you doing?  Isn't Alicia's mom pretty?  I've been listening in on her conversation with Rhys's dad and things seem to be going well.  There's a lot of subtext.  I'm sort of glad I'm not here in the flesh, or I'd be squicked listening in on the vibes.  They want to know if you can tell when someone's lying just by looking at them.  Can you?  Can you tell Donnie I miss him and that he has tomato sauce on his face?"

Consuelo notes the late arrival and comes over to do her duty as hostess. She greets Colin, introduces herself, thanks him for coming, and helps set him up with an order.

She catches the nonverbal hint from Alicia, and leaves the group back on their own to rejoin Andrew and their chat.

Alicia's been distracted with the group's discussion to keep track of what the two parents have been talking about. She hopes that won't come back to bite her later.

Concentrating back on the table, she comments, "Hey, Colin, Sammy stepped out to get some fresh air or something, but she should be back soon. We're talking about what to do about the Tentacle Kid. Y'know, Doc Ock Jr.?

"The current plan is for me and Donnie to go chat up Preston Wilde and find out if he knows anything about it."

Sarah gets up from her seat and walks over to Colin straight through an open space unoccupied by anything normally visible.  She gives him a hug and gasps, "Your freezing!  Come sit down and have a couple slices.  Warm up."  She takes his cold hand and leads him over to the table. 
"In between bites you'll have to recall our adventures with Mike and Preston and anything else pertinent.  Do you want water to drink or something hot?"

Sammy turns another corner and walks past the school grounds and down the street past a bunch of houses.

Colin greets Ms. Vega with his warm smile and his usual, old-fashioned good manners, but Alicia can tell he seems distracted, his eyes keep darting to the side.


"I'll gladly take a chocolate later but water will do for now, thanks."

He sits down and sighs.

"Ok, please, one thing at a time. Let's try to recap everything. It's indeed rather complicated. I brought my notes, if we need to go back and check on something. One of the reasons I'm late is because I had to go to the PCD station and ask for a favor, since it didn't occur to me at the time to take photos of something we found at school."

He makes a pause, taking a couple bites of pizza.

"I went to check if the weapon we found at school, the one who was used to shoot through an armored car during a robbery at the beginning of the year, was anything like the one used against Gena. They look quite different, fortunately. While on my way back I ran into Sylvia. Well, not really, she was in Carolyn's car, noticed me and waved mentally. She's sorry she can't be here tonight, she misses you." he seems to mean everyone, but he's looking at Donnie. In fact, he gestures him to wipe his cheek.

"Now, Mike and Preston. Well, we looked for them because we suspected Preston to be involved in the robot robberies, and at the time we were desperate to find clues about Vandross. And we were both right and wrong. Right, because it turned out it was in fact Preston to build those robots, but wrong because Vandross had used him. He made them build them and then forget about them."

If the new guys don't know about the Vandross scandal, he gives them a quick summary.

"The metal tentacles, for whatever reason, were the first thing Vandross stole with the help of the death ray. Since they haven't been found, it's possible that he had someone take them and forget. Mike (if his metal tentacles are related, which seems probable) might have literally found them in his basement with no idea how they got there."

"And then there's Gena's attempted murder. She thought it was Mike, but I've thought about it, and it makes little sense. If we assume it's him and that he wanted to eliminate a witness, why not kill her then at the construction site? He could have made sure it looked like an accident. I think there's more to this story than we suspect. Letting ourselves be clouded by our own suppositions didn't help last time."

He looks around at the others.

"The only thing we know about them is that they brought the sleep gas at school. We don't even know why. It could be it was just a joke. Maybe they would have never used it. From there to murder is quite a big step, don't you think?"

"I'd like to think from anywhere to murder is a big step."  John says, looking around the room intently.  "I need to step out for a minute.  I'll be right back."  He wipes his mouth and then goes to the counter for a hot chocolate, and then goes outside.

Sammy is aware of his arrival by the breeze, and then the smell of hot chocolate.  "Thought you might want something warm to drink."  he says, handing her the cup.  "I can head back if you'd like to be alone?"

Sylvia seems pacified by that.  She goes back to rocking the astral discotheque.

Sammy gratefully accepts the hot chocolate.  "Thank you.  You don't have to go, unless you want to get back so Alicia doesn't feel abandoned.  I'm just clearing my head.  Every time we talk about the witches, its like I can't stop thinking about it after.  My stomach starts churning and I get this tight feeling like I'm going to explode.  The best thing to do when I get like that is get away from the chatter; outside is the best."  She smiles weakly.  "Anything in those medical books of yours about inducing selective amnesia?  I could ask Syl, or Sarah, but the idea of somebody going through the attic of my mind looking for all the junk pieces bugs me too."  She takes a sip from the cup.  "It's stupid.  They can't even hurt me anymore."

"They did though.  They hurt you, and other people.  They did a number on all of us."  He's quiet for a minute.  "I sometimes think about asking Sarah or Sylvia to take out a memory.  It's a nice memory, but it's not real.  My mom always tells me that the bad things that happen to us make us stronger.  Sometimes though, that's hard to hold onto."

Sammy winces in sympathy.  "I forgot, they played mind games on you guys too, didn't they?  I bet there's stuff you want to forget."  She drinks more chocolate.  "Maybe we ought to have a memory burning party.  Write down the ones we want to be free of on some scraps of paper, and set them on fire, then quick do something good or real to fill up that memory space and write completely over it.  Make the former occupant irrelevant."

Donnie takes a napkin to his face and clears it of offending sauce.

"You have a point Colin. We're so used to the real bad eggs in our school we automatically think that others are capable of things like attempted murder. I guess we are being a little harsh-judgemental. I think approaching him as a resource is looking better and better."

He takes a long draw on the glass of coke in front of him and taps his chin. "You know, ole' Don Vandross was likely to have someone closer to him to work as a toady. Most big villan like to have someone to do their dirty work. Maybe this shadowy murderous person is simply using Mike to experiment with the toys. Human guinae pig to make sure the items work before he uses them. There might be a third party we are not aware of involved in this. Someone who took lessons from his former master."

Alicia vainly tries to follow the conversation thread.

She throws up her hands. "Jeez, guys, maybe you should put together a program book so I can keep track of all this stuff. So there was another bad guy involved? With a name like Vandross, all I can think of is like a high-school version of Dr. Doom."

She nods at Donnie's comment. "Okay, so Preston's an asset, not a Person of Interest, then?"

She looks around. "What? I watch CSI, sue me."

Sarah grins at Alicia, "Nothing.  CSI lingo is actually appropriate around here sometimes."
To Colin she says, "Thank you for sorting this out.  Your brain and your notes save the day once more.  I totally forgot to mention Vandross when I started."  She gives him another hug and keeps one arm around him to help him warm up.  She didn't give off heat like John but being pressed up to Colin usually got his blood flowing pretty well under most circumstances. 

"Maybe Mike found it and he just took them out for a spin.  It might have been just another laugh to him like whatever they were going to use the gas for."  

Donnie smirks good naturedly. "New kids." He looks at Colin. "With all these new students cropping up at the Usual Suspects table, maybe we should have a required reading manual for all noobs."

He waves peacably at Alicia. "For the longest time, there was one name that kept cropping up associated with damn near every odd or horrible occurance here at Oak Park: Luther Vandross. The former Mayor of the city suddenly moved out of town for no reason, and it came out that his son, a kid with the unfortunate name of Donald, was this secret mastermind and had made this persona up. It seems kind of far fetched that he was behind everything but the name stopped popping up everywhere when they moved out of state." He shrugs.

"As far as Preston, it's easier to make enemies than friends, and we aren't in this to take the easy route all the time. We might end up robbing banks and stuff."

Alicia's face wrinkles in mock-disdain, and she sticks her tongue out at Donnie.


"Oh. That Vandross. I remember hearing about him leaving town. Didn't know he had a kid. Could he have come back, like, incognito?"


Alicia pointedly stays mum at this comment.

It does seem to work.


If Colin thinks that there should be a manual for the old Usual Suspects as well, he's gracious enough not to say it aloud.

"Emille Vandross."


"No. Not with the brunt of interpol and NSA on his tail. He was never that good. He was only lucky enough to find the right toy."

"Oh, yeah. Not the R&B singer. Emille Vandross."

"The Mayor of Chicago was a R&B singer?"

Now Alicia is really confused.

Sarah laughs at Alicia's comment and starts coughing because she'd been sipping a bit of soda...

"No," she croaks before clearing her throat.  "Donald Howell was mayor of Oak Park.  Emille Vandross or Lime Navel Dross as I like to think of him, was the name that his son used as a cover for his crimes."

She uses her pizza smudged napkin to wipe away a few tear drops.  "We've had no run-in's with any R&B singers that I am aware of."

"Aaaand this is why I'm the one who does the recaps." he says, sighing.

"Donald Howell was the Oak Park's major. His son, Donnie junior, is the criminal we've been talking about. Vandross was his fake identity. They're in London now, I think, though extradition has already been asked for. He has to answer for at least three accounts of murder, after all."

"Oh-kay," says Alicia dubiously as she absent-mindedly gnaws on a left-over pizza crust.

"So the chance of this kid, whatever name he goes by, being back in town to cause trouble is slim to none. Who else do we have as a prime suspect?"

Donnie laughs at Sarah's comment. "Lime Navel Dross. I totally forgot about that.." He giggles and then cocks his head curiously, as if hearing a distant sound. Out loud he says "Oh you'd better not.."

He then facepalms, snickering.

*****

On the crenellations of the building John and Sammy stand near, Pip gets bored waiting for them to move on. A small dragonet, his hylokka was not as bottomless as a normal sized dragon but better than a normal human - a normal lizard would have frozen to death by now. Sitting in a slightly steaming pile of snow munching on the remains of an especially slow and stupid pigeon, he gets the brilliant idea of playing one of his famous 'tricks'.

With his tail and wings, he gathers up as much snow as possible (watery, thanks to his internal heat) and pushes it off the ledge directly above where John and Kat are talking quietly.

Sammy shrieks as cold snow drops onto her head and down her collar.  She looks up and sees the little dragon peeking over the ledge.  "You'd better run!" she cries out.  "You'll be lizard loaf for someone's dinner if I catch you!"

She grabs John's arm and takes off into the air after the dastardly dragonet.

Sarah says, "Nobody so far.  That's why it's up to you and Donnie to be all sugary sweet and polite, morally upstanding citizens when you talk to Preston and ask for his advice.  You should wear a nice modest dress with simple dark tights.  Maybe a little ribbon for your hair."

She can't help but start grinning as she offers the clothing advice. 

Alicia gives Sarah the hairy eyeball at first, then catches on.

"And a pair of lime-green Crocs," she adds, with a chuckle. "Maybe that could be my secret identity: Philemina Dorkstein, girl geek."

Jakob has been listening with interest and is eternally grateful to Colin for explaining everything so clearly.

"If you'd like a little more muscle along, Miss Dorkstein, I'd be glad to come along.  It'd be good to feel useful and all."

He looks over at Colin.  "If you're still hungry I'll split another pie with you."

"Oh, sure, thank you. I don't think Preston is dangerous though. Maybe the wisest thing to do would be to ask someone who knows them well." As he say so his eyes wonder, stopping to a point in midair. "Logan."

Alicia glances at Colin. "I'm guessing that was a name, not some weird cussword."

She mutters to herself, "I seriously need to start bringing a notebook around to write these names down." Aloud, she asks, "So who's Lo-gan?"

Sylvia, coincidentally occupying that point in midair, gives Colin a look.  "He told me he needed me to stay away for a while, but I can contact him."

Sammy, with John in tow, follows Pip as the dragonlet leads them on a madcap chase around the middle school grounds.  Pip's Top Gun maneuvers force her to pull in close to John so that she can react with her own aerobatics and not lose her wingman.  The huge grin plastered across her face is evidence to the fact that she's really not all that upset about the snow going down her neck.  Tension and unease flow out and away from her with every spin and dive.

Not a single drop of hot chocolate is spilled.

Alicia grins. "Thanks for getting my back, big guy, but I figure I should be fine."

Her grin widens. "I mean, c'mon, these are geeks we're talking about. If I bent over to touch my toes, I bet more than half of them would faint from blood loss to the brain."

She points a finger at Jakob. "I'll definitely keep you in mind, though, if we face this Mike guy and he starts with the tentacle thing. I'm sure I can keep him from tagging me but someone's gonna need to paste him."

Sarah says, "That's where Donnie comes in.  I'll take Pip over metal tentacles any day.  Wouldn't that make him feel awful though?  It's like getting stopped by Pikachu."

Alicia looks skeptically at Sarah. "Is that the little one? It didn't look like that much to me.

"Now, the Greyhound Bus with legs, I could see that one putting down some serious hurt."

Donnie chortles. "Pippenthal! I choose you!"  After he gets over his fit of laughter, he addresses Alicia's concern.


"Pip saved me several times from bat-wielding superman hopped jocks. He ate a mobster's gun once, and his bite is pretty poisonous. I trust him with my life and the lives of my friends."

Alicia throws her hands up appeasingly. "Hey, not trying to diss your lizards, man. How many of them do you have, anyway?"

"Dunno yet."  He smiles conspiritorally.

Sarah just smiles to herself at the image of the little critter biting through the octo arms one by one and burping into the distressed badguys face.

"Oooh-kay." Alicia says dubiously.

"So, where do you keep them? Does Pet Smart do bulk discount for Dragon Chow?" Her face suddenly wrinkles in concern. "Are they housebroken?"

"Pip likes cookies, but he'll eat anything. Literally. The other ones, well, the're predators. They eat anything smaller than themselves, except for other dragons. When they are not here, they are somehere else. Another world, another dimension. Not to sound to melodramatic, but there is literally another society just under our own, one made up of magical beings hidden from normal sight. They have their own rules, their own lives, and they mostly don't intersect with our own. When it does, it usually ends in bloodshed."

Donnie downs the last of his coke and unwraps a lemon-scented wet-wipe. He smiles and says "Sammy is in a much better mood. Pip got her to fly. If she could, Sammy'd fly everywhere. Pip is annoyed he wasn't able to snatch her hot chocolate though. She had to put down John after Pip nearly knocked the cup from her hand. The football star isn't quite used to corkscrews and sudden wingovers."

Alicia snorts. "Play-by-play announcements. Funny."

She waggles the remains of a pizza crust in his direction. "I bet you have that lizard peeking into girls' windows when you're bored," she says mischieviously.

She starts as an idea pops into her head. "Hey, actually, that could be useful for casing out a place before..." She pauses as she realizes her audience, then waves her hand in feigned nonchalance. "Never mind."

"He's the only person who could rival Dave for the best information network in Oak Park. And a friend of Preston, if I remember correctly. I'll ask Sylvia to ask him if we're not going straight into a trap."


Colin nods. "That's why some are appointed as ambassadors and diplomats. Like Donnie and I."

Then he frowns and turns to Donnie. "Wait. Althea is a carnivore? I can't believe it."

Alicia mimes making a check mark on a floating piece of paper. "Another Person of Interest, check."


Alicia says, "So wait, he got dragons and you got a bird? Dude, you were so gypped."


"If Althea's the Komodo on steroids, I do. I saw the way he looked at me." She shudders theatrically.

Colin seems about to say something about calling down lightning from the sky, banishing demons, and stopping time, or at least reminding her how the clouds and the rain seemed to obey him, but then he thinks better of that. He isn't in this for the fans.

"If you say so..." he only says, with a slight grin.


"No, that's Uther. And he's a gentleman. Uhm. Gentledragon. Is there a word for that?" he asks Donnie.

Alicia chuckles. "Gentle dragon? That sounds like one of those oxycontins; y'know, words that don't go together."

Rhys gently strokes Alicia's arm as he says, "I think you mean oxymoron."

Donnie shares Colin's grin. "Most of us are much more than we seem, Alicia."


"Gentry is the closest word that would equate to Uther. His breed are diplomats, soldiers, and bodyguards. He's not royalty, but darn close. He's also quite old from what I understand. He was at the formal signing of the Accords in the forties, and was old then. Althea is a Cerulean Drake. They are the masters of the sky and arrogant as hell about it. Althea is unusual in the fact she volunteered to be one of my protectors. Most drakes think of humans as simply slow food. She's also a gentle soul and prefers to have dinner prepared by others, so to speak. She's not much of a hunter. I am pretty sure she likes Sammy more than me because Sammy can fly with her. Sylvia is her favorite person though because of the Halloween outfit she wore last year. Plus she loves bright colors, and in that department Sylvia's wardrobe rarely disappoints."

Alicia gives Rhys a slightly miffed look. "Yeah, whatever. Y'know what I meant."


Alicia shrugs. "While everything about me is right out there." She flashes a quick grin, displaying her slightly-prominent canines.


Alicia looks actually impressed. "Wow. That sounds, like, complicated."

She snaps her fingers. "Wait, that's right, you have that big one with wings you were riding that one time. That's Al-see-a, right? I remember her 'cause she sounded like a little kid." She muffles a giggle.