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"Hmmm.. I wonder how Lana is doing right now? He muttered as he makes his way to the Cherise Shopping District using his car. Lana was a member of the Blacklist. He met her back at the times where he was still around in Zion City. She was a good and cheery lady. And having her around felt like having a well and trusted sister.



By the time when he is approaching the shopping district, he turned on the radio to listen to some local news. And what got his alarmed was hearing the reports of ghosts, and ghouls, terrorizing the streets. In the broadcast, they advised using salt and holy water to fend them off while inside the house. John narrowed his eyes as he looked around the streets. It was eerie to see how quiet the place was. Not quite the busy city for now. "I forgot to listen to ze news.. zhis doesn't feel right at all."

He decided to stop by the Moonbucks to have some coffee or maybe a full breakfast if they have any. But before he left his car, he made sure to bring a small military canteen with him. And in that canteen, it was filled with holy water. It was one of the items that he keeps around after a priest gave it to him. He does believe in a holy and supernatural being. But he does not go to church anymore after the church he used to attend got bombed by his rival gangs. And John doesn't want innocent people to die just because of him.

Keeping an eye on his surroundings, he went inside the said cafe. [ENTER]



As usual, he enters the cafe and not minding whoever is staring at him as his eyes darted directly at the registry. "I v'would like coffee please.. ~Black.. . just the right size.. along v'with a slice of cheesecake.." ---

After paying to the registry, he waited at one of the tables that were in the center of the cafe. A secure location for him not to be familiar with from the outside in case of enemy gangs may notice him, and he can also have this space to have room for the next action if any threat may occur. Despite rival gangs, he also takes note of the local news. ---

'I have to send her a text message~ .. .' He grabbed his phone, typing a message for Vitessa while his eyes remained sharp of their vicinity.

After sending Vitessa a text message, he decided to send a short SMS to one of his business partners to move their meeting tomorrow. But if the 'bad news' is still around, their meeting will have a slight delay. Though the session is not dire if one fails to attend, it's about maintaining relationships with that particular business partner. It's not really hard to be a racketeer businessman. It is just like being a gardener, where one would water, groom, and keep monitoring on each and every plant in the garden. And what makes it rewarding is to see them grow, bloom, and stand out to their full potential.





Scrolling through his phone, he then felt like someone was watching him. He thought it was just a rumble in his stomach at first, but he had this itching feeling to divert his attention from the screen of his phone and check what was that gut feeling. He didn't move an inch. His phone still extended like he was still reading something while his other hand still has its index finger, touching the screen yet frozen. His eyes, however, pivoted in a random direction. Indirectly scanning what's in front of him using the edge of his eye.
Like if one could carefully observe, he would still look like he was scrolling his phone while having a drift of thought since his eyes were slowly pivoting to directions that were not pointed directly to anyone in the cafe.

And there.. ~spotted. While John continued to pretend like he was still focused on his phone, his eyes were secretly passing through the phone and carefully observing the lady who seems to be upset at him. 'Have I met her before?' His eyes narrowed as they scan from her silver hair and down to her neckline. He coughed and then pretends like he still didn't notice her after lowering his phone.



He then stands up to grab his coffee while still having that relaxed composure. He did notice that the feline lady seems to be carrying a weapon. 'geeze .. I hope she v'won't poke me with zhat..' he said in his thoughts as he eyed her again but in a quick manner for him to notice that he was already aware that she was striking daggered gazes at him.
He sat back down to his table and still pretends that he didn't notice her. Sniffing his coffee, a wave of relief flowed through his body. It made him close his eyes and tilt his head with a splash of calmness and excitement. 'Aaahh.. v'what a nice sweltering beverage for zhe morning.' he muttered after opening his eyes again to enjoy his coffee for the first sip.


He then grabs the sundae spoon that was provided for him to have that small scoop of that delicious fruity cheesecake. He lowered the spoon like it was in slow-motion. But then, he just can't pretend anymore of not noticing this feline lady.
Pausing in mid-air, his eyes finally looked directly at her before setting his spoon to the side where it didn't even graze the fruity cheesecake slice. "Is... something zhe matter, miss?" His head tilted to the side slightly as he wondered why would she look at him like that. And he was sure that she was looking at him since nobody is behind him.

With no clue how he made her feel upset, he then added; "Enjoying'g our.. cupcake.. are v'we now?" He nodded with a small like any ordinary gentleman. However, at the back of his head, he is now doubting his safety since there were multiple cases where his enemy gangs will send assassins to end his life. Yet in this case, if ever she was planning to kill him, she could've done it right away for him not to even notice. Unless if she's not a professional? 'No. She couldn't be an assassin. Either way, I should not be too comfortable here.'

This Russian mobster still felt baffled. He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly when he noticed that she was gasping for air before saying the word cheesecake. He was trying to figure out what made her look upset at him a while ago. 'Hmm.. Is she alright?' His eyes then scanned to the pastry she is having. He is looking for some possible clues about this one-sided tension. 'Is her cupca- .. oh wait.. it's a muffin.'

He glanced back to the registry where the cakes, bread, and other sweet treats were displayed. He traced his eyes where he ordered that last piece of cheesecake. He was not really paying attention if it was the last piece or not. He just wanted something sweet to pair with his coffee. And there, he spotted a tag where it says "Cheesecake" and there was no more cheesecake left but only John's. 'Could it be? .. was she mad cuz I took the last piece?' he muttered quietly after slowly shifting his gaze back to Freya. From what she mentioned, it was quite clear that she wanted the cheesecake.


From that confused look, his eyes then relaxed, and a small smirk outlined the rim of his lips.'She reminds me of Lana..' He closed his eyes while he shook his head, and recalling the years he spent with Lana back in Zion City. She was a fun girl with a strong personality. Giving it a moment, he opened his while still having that slight smirk on his face.
Gently pushing his chair as he stands, he walked towards this rosey feline lady. And with him, he brought his untouched fruity cheesecake with the sundae spoon on the side of its plating.
"Here, If you v'would mind eating this for me.. I realized 'tis far too sweet. And I v'would go for a muffin instead." He said to her as he reaches the slice of cheesecake to her, waiting for her to hold it herself and do whatever she wishes to do with it.


Before he would turn around, he gave a sweet smile. A smile like how he adores her since there was something about Freya that reminds him of someone he met before. Promedaing back to his table, he enjoyed the very same muffin she ordered and adding two (2) pieces of chocolate chip cookies.
And glancing back to her again, he dipped one of his cookies into his hot coffee, giving a small smile. "So.. tell me, miss.. . What's your name?"

... "My name is John.. 'tis a pleasure to meet you, Freya.." and of course, his words has the accent of a Russian.





Quite the acquaintance actually. John has never met her kind before. Though he encountered people with feline features. Yet from the looks of her fur, it seems like she is not from around here, or maybe John just needs to know more of this city since it has only been two (2) months since he arrived and decided to live here. 'Not to mention that he didn't expect to find his ex in this city.'

Anywho...
Before their conversation would go further, John spotted a shadow who just dashed along the sidewalk. Its appearance was not clear since it passed quickly from the cafe. It seems they are here now.
Acting like everything seems normal, he didn't panic nor giving Freya a sign of any compromise. He just gave a smile to her and nodded, but then he asked, "Freya... Do you know how to fight ghosts and demons?" and when a deathly phantom appeared from behind Freya, he quickly whipped his hand diagonally, spraying some holy water on the ghostly entity, making it flee. Then he would stand on Freya's side to defend her. "Tis not safe here.. V'would you trust a man who you just met, asking you to go inside his car for cover?" He asked and hoping for her to go inside the car with him. ----

John chuckled as she stated her allegation. It was like saying out loud about what was pretty obvious a while ago. She smiled, and he smirked in return. Her personality and even her vibe make him feel nostalgic. He doesn't know what it is. But he read an unpopular quote once; "Even if you see every place in the world, there's no better place to be than in your motherland." However, a place is just a place. It's the people that matter.

"Khorosho, poshli!" (Хорошо, пошли!) 'Alright, let's go!' He exclaimed as he kept his smirk while coating his fists with holy water. John only has a bottle of sacred water, just enough to cover himself for defense or any he could improvise with later on as more and more phantoms are starting to appear in the atmosphere. John leads the way, exiting the shop and opened the door for the passenger seat. Despite the chaos in their midst, John still has his chivalry underneath his skin. 'Chivalry ain't dead' Expecting Freya to follow in, John slid over the hood of his car for a faster shift to get to the other side of the car. 'To look cool as well' -wink -wink'
As the two are inside the black corvette. John initiated the engine, making it boom and roar before shifting the gear and kicking the accelerator, putting the pedal to the metal as they flee. vvVVVVRRRRRROOOOOMMMM!!! .. . Let's just hope Freya doesn't mind a fast getaway car.






"So Freya, v'where do you live? ...I could take you to your house... However if you are just living alone.. I will not risk it. Let's go to my house instead." His brows furrowed seeing the dark atmosphere and the demons behind their tail. Hmm.. 'Freya' He muttered her name as he recalled something. "I like your name. 'Tis the name of a goddess, is it not? The goddess of fertility in Norse Mythology... Exquisite..." He smiled as he kept his eyes on the road.

"I have a question for you.. what do you think about gangsters? Do you believe that they are evil people?" John vehicle zoomed along the highway, exiting the vicinity of the Cerise Shopping District and now heading to the Streets of Lumiere