"And they come in tacky gold too"

His words were casually calculated, mirroring her own polite response.Something told the witch he would make for an interesting acquaintance, or even friend if they went that far.

The cafe they were approaching looked nice enough. A copy place with both indoor and outdoor seating. Shiera had passed it by a few times but never actually stopped. Now she could cross that off her list of places to explore.

A long time ago, she had learned that people and places were correlated, and that if one couldn't read one, they should learn to read the other. Given her former profession, she had learned tor read the first. Which was how she knew his smile was just a notch less easy than it had formerly been. Deciding to store that bit of information away for later, she continued with the game of idle chit chat they were both engaging in.

"Oh, and here I thought I was in the company oft he man who was going to discover the cure for the itch," she joked lightly, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind an ear. "And if you do end up doing just that, I will fully publicize the fact that we went out for coffee once."

Whight laughed, "No, no. My interests have yet to venture to potions or medicine. I know enough for to help myself and maybe some slight wounds on somonee else, but that is about all."

When they reached the table Whight pulled out a chair for the witch. After she was seated he sat opposite of her facing the direction fromwhich they came only hoping to spot what he thought was a tail. A young waitress came to the table. "Ah, Mr. Linstrum," she said. "The usual?"

"Yes please," he said with a pleasant smile. "And please bring out the finest of whatever the lady may order."

As the waitress turned to Shiera to take her order, Whight looked through his company in search. A man dressed in black leaned against the wall staring at him. Whight recognized him as the man from the clothing store; he knew he had sensed something odd about him.

When the waitress was gone Whight cut Shiera off from what ever she was about to say and very seriously said, "I beg your pardon but I must ask, does anyone know you're here? Don't look but there is a man standing a short distance behind you and he has followed us from the store."

Whight hoped the woman had some bad debts or some unsettled business that she had not taken care of because if she didn't it only meant one thing; the man was following Whight. He immediately began to calculate all the possible scenarios that were about to unfold. He placed his hand closer the the opening of his jacket in case he had to draw his wand in a seconds notice.

Shiera asked the waitress for a coffee - black, always black - and was just about to subtly mention the follower when her companion beat her to it. Clearly, some things merited subtlety be disregarded. Her expression unchanged, she took the menu in front of her, pretending to carefully consider the selection of pastries.

Putting the menu down, she leaned towards him so that any observers would just see the gesture as mere flirting or light conversation. "I'm positive he's following you, Mr. Linstrum. I have yet to engage in anything that would require a tail." Nodding slightly, she let half her hair fall over a shoulder, obscuring some of her face from view of the follower.

"The question is, what do we do about it?"

Her words were exactly what Whight didn't want to hear. This meant his identity had been compromised. This was the exact reason Whight never wore the same face twice. This Order business was now becoming annoying.

Whight followed suit and acted as if he hadn't even noticed the man. He wore a bright smile as he pretended to be involved in small talk with the woman across from him. "This is very unfortunate." Whight dreaded the though that he may actually have to kill some in front of a potential friend. Even worse he did not want to have to explain himself.

"At the moment we still have an advantage on him. I have to admit I've never been followed before so the true element of surprise is simply not in the cards. If he's smart he plans to wait until I'm alone before confronting me which we can very well play with."

Whight paused as the waitress brought them their coffee. "This is what we do," he said working to drag out a little time to make it look as if the are genuinely enjoying themselves about this and that while sipping his tea. "If you are interested in helping me, then my plan is to, in a few moments, look at my watch and realize that "I need to be somewhere." I will get up, give you a quick hug and apologize just before we part ways. I will walk in his direction but i will turn down the alley in attempt to "evade" him.

"This is where you come in, if willing. He may follow me or he may try to cut me off toward the end of the other alley. When his back is turned you can follow him. This way we will have two wands on him before he knows whats going on."

Whight knew what he was doing, he did this sort of thing for a living. He could anticipate the moves of almost anyone. He only hope he hadn't made it that obvious to Shiera. There were just some things people didn't need to know.

"I would understand if you're uninterested in whatever mess I have seemed to fallen into. But in any case I'm must confront that man before it's too late." Whight looked to his watch and slowly began his charade while waiting for her response; he didn't have time to waste.

Several questions competed with each other for attention in the blonde's mind. What made her companion think the follower would confront him at any point? The job of a tail was usually to do just that for information gathering purposes. He also might be overestimating her skill with a wand and possibly recruiting a liability. And then of course there was the matter of what to do with the follower once they had him.

Oh well, she reasoned, it was never too early to get involved in trouble. She may not be particularly good at dueling but she had been followed before. Of course, her previous mode of defending herself had been to disappear into a crowd, only to emerge as a brunette in a dark cloak some distance away.

Laughing a little as if her companion had told a joke, she nodded. "Very well Mr. Linstrum, its your show. I'm glad to be of service." A pity she wouldn't get to finish her coffee, it was quiet good. But that's how the world functioned, you won some and then you lost a little.

Whight rose from his chair while taking a hurried sip of tea. He stepped toward Shiera for a quick hug. "If you disappear from all this, I understand," he whispered.

To Whight, Shiera seemed just about up for anything. She held a level head and didn't show the least bit of fear. Whight was impressed, but her reaction might have been a little different had then man been following her; but wasn't he? Whight had killed many people who swore they were never involved in anything worth being killed over, but nevertheless he finished the job. For those Whight only followed, they never knew he was following them. A good tail only gets noticed intentionally.

Whight made a quick pace with his feet. He looked to his watch once more but was only really looking at the man who seemed overly interested as to where Whight was going. As he said, Whight turned down an alley. He used the window pane reflections along the buildings in attempt to get a glimpse of anything behind him; he saw nothing but blurred streaks.

Whight reached inside his coat and grabbed his wand and waited for the right moment to turn around.

As the man left her, she quietly waited for a few minutes, the picture of a disappointed date. Affecting emotions came easy to her - but no, now was not the time to dwell on that. When a surreptitious glance into her hand mirror showed the tail moving discreetly towards where her companion had disappeared, she pulled out a few coins from her handbag and left them on the table, her small mirror still in hand. People rarely suspected a vain witch of anything noteworthy. And it was a good tool for watching her back.

They alley she was in was reasonably shaded, making her squint in the distance. She could hear fading footsteps and assumed they belonged to the unknown follower catching up to the young man she had been sipping coffee with. The blonde quickened her pace, glad that her skirt allowed enough room for the movement. She had had the foresight to cast a silencing charm on her heels or they would be giving away her footsteps to everyone within a ten mile radius.

And yet something wasn't right...

Even as she hurried, the figure in front of her did the same. And there was still no sign of the man who was being followed by both her and the tail. What was worse, a slow trickle of fear was starting in her gut, the instinct that told her things were about to go very wrong.

The hand that came down to cover her mouth from behind was met with a vicious jab of her heel in her attacker's instep. She felt him buckle, felt the hand clamped on her lips loosen, only to regain its grip as the attacker steadied himself, jabbing the end of his wand at her side.

It clicked just as the footsteps she had been hearing until now stopped. The waitress must have tipped him off.

It won't work, she wanted to scream through the dirty fingers blocking her mouth. He doesn't know me, he only met me today. The attacker seemed to have different ideas as he dragged her towards the brick wall, his wandtip on her temple now.

The idea had been good, she mused, a part of her brain detached from the situation. Perhaps the tail knew he could never defeat Linstrum one on one . And how cliche, to utilize the nearest female. Except the flaw in the plan was this: she wasn't a dear one to the young man. He had absolutely no reason to come back and rescue this damsel.

Shiera slumped, closing her eyes.

'Something isn't right,' he thought. Perhaps he underestimated his follower. Whight stopped and turned around, wand at the ready. Nothing. He began to retrace his steps. Shiera should have at least been near but she was nowhere in sights. He began to worry.

His pace quickened as he searched the allies for the woman. He realized he should have never asked for her help in the first place. The woman was now involved in Whight's dangerous affairs when she probably just wanted to lend a helping hand. He was responsible for her fate now.

At the wave of his wand Whight silenced his steps and amplified his hearing. He could now hear distorted noised behind walls and the business taking place amongst the streets. After a moment of pause Whight took control of his hearing and ignored the unimportant.

"You can come out now," said a voice. "I'm not here to harm you."

'How did he know?' Whight thought. He readied his wand and entered the open alley. To his surprise the man was unarmed. "Where is she?" he asked.

"She is fine. Don't worry yourself. You will be joining her shortly." The man displayed no emotion as he spoke.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because, Mr. Linstrum, I have been here before and tried this many times and this is the only scenario where you will listen to what I have to say. Follow me."

Something in Whight stopped in from casting a spell on the man's back. It was rare that anyone known something Whight wasn't more than aware of and this seemed to be one of those instances. He kept his wand held in the air as he followed the man. A moment later the man face a wall Whight had never seen before. The wall shifted in several directions after he placed his hand in the center of the stone. "Just this way," he said.

Whight lit the tip of his wand but there was no need for the light, for after the wall closed behind him, a fire place lit the room. Three men sat at a table playing some sort of card game. Shera sat gagged in one of three chairs next to the fireplace. "Please, have a seat."

Whight took a seat next to Shiera. The man removed his wand, but Whight was quick. He stood pointing his wand daring the man to cast a spell. "Do not worry my friend, I am only untying her." The man did as he said and Whight took his seat once more.

"Are you alright?" he asked Shiera.

After her response he looked to the man that brought them there. "What is it you want with us?"

The man smiled as he leaned back into his seat, "Finally. I have followed you for a very long time Mr. Linstrum. Not here, but in the future. I am a Time Adjuster. I make corrections in time when things go horribly wrong. Today I come to you with a glimpse of the future that will become your reality should you continue on your current path. Together you both will arrive at the same point in time, a point in which you can alter a great deal of destruction. I ask that you make the right choice and save many lives. I'm here to show you what you're truly involved in and what you, Ms. Starr, will also be a part of if you continue spending time with this man. You two do become very good friends, but you must be aware of what is to come if you make the wrong decisions."

The man stood. "Take my hand, each of you. We don't have much time. The sand continues to fall."

Whight looked to Shiera.

The darkness was all consuming, it enveloped her senses and made her relax for the first time in what felt like years. But too many months of viewing any amount of relief with suspicion had taught Shiera to question so despite the foggy bliss her mind wanted to embrace, she forced her consciousness, forced it to work towards being aware, towards sensing.

Slowly, painfully, the darkness begin to thin, low voiced reached her ears and her center of gravity returned with a rude jolt in her stomach. She had been airborne but was now being placed in a hard surface. No, not airborne, she had been carried. Rough fabric made its presence known as it chafed the smooth skin around her mouth, no doubt turning the pale flesh an angry red. A gag.

Further experimentation proved that her movements were restrained, she was tied down as well. But oddly enough, there didn't seem to be any immediate danger. Color swam into her view soon after and she took in the men playing cards.

"Don't struggle," one threw her way, almost casually. "You'll only hurt yourself." He clearly did not know Shiera Starr never did as she was told. Soon enough, red marks marred the places where the worst of the rope rash was. The men continued playing.

There was no way to measure time in here. Had she been a captive for hours, minutes, days? There was no way to tell. Just as she was about to accept the monotony of her situation, light happened across the small space they were occupying, permitting in two figures, one of them very familiar.

"Wight," she tried to warn though the gaga but to little avail. Regardless, the man seemed to understand as he took a seat next to her. The man - presumably her abductor from his voice - untied her and the witch almost felt giddy at getting her circulation back.

"Are you alright?"

"I've been better," she mouthed, rubbing her red wrists where the rope had burnt.

Instead of the young man, it was the abductor who spoke, and what a story he had to tell. For surely it could be nothing more than that. Shiera didn't for a moment think there was any truth to this tale. Time travel was forbidden, was it not? And supposing this man had indeed been traveling in time, why had he not observed the law of not being seen. The blonde looked on in uncertainty as the self proclaimed Time Adjuster bid them take his hand.

Whight looked to Shiera. The witch faced their abductor.

"Why should we believe you?" she asked, trying to sound calmer than she felt. Her voice was raspy thanks to the gag but it served its purpose. "In fact, what's stopping us from activating a transportation spell we may or may not keep in our pocket for occasions such as these?" It was partially true. When she had been working, she always had a pin or broach endowed with a portus to see her home safely when normal modes of transportation failed. She didn't have one right now but their host didn't know that.

The man withdrew and pocketed his hands. "We don't have time for this," he voiced with a touch of annoyance. "Every second I spend explaining myself to you will only wastes the little, much needed time we have, but I will try my best." The man the pulled out a small hour glass and place in upon the fireplace mantle.

As the sand began to fall, he spoke. "You may not believe me," he said to Sheria, "and that is fine. My main concern is Mr. Linstrum here." He halted Whight from speaking. "Time traveling as you know is a very dangerous business, but do you really think that those who govern us haven't taken some advantage of such a powerful tool? There are many things hidden from the public for their own safety. If you knew all the things me and my men know you would probably wish to kill yourself.

"My men and I have been given the job to 'adjust' time for the betterment of the majority. Yes there are those that still die in the end because we simply can't save them all, but we work to save as many people as we possibly can. I am a Seer who has been granted this position and I am to show certain individuals their future should they need a little course correction."

Whight began to rethink free will and life altogether. This man was some sort of puppet master, he thought. He quickly became anxious to see what the man had to show him. Whight knew he was capable of getting himself out of a bad situation should the man's words prove to be false.

The man continued. "What is stopping you from doing just that, Ms. Starr? If you must leave then do so, I seem to already have the interest of Mr. Linstrum."

The last bit of sand fell to the bottom of the hour glass. The man looked over and then back to Whight. "It's time to go," he said to Whight, "and you're welcome to join Ms. Starr." He extended his hands once more and Whight stood.

He reached for then man's and looked the Sheria saying, "Let's do this. I may need your help."