[for Billiam]
Luke pushed out of the Mei Jia apartment building and bounded into the night. Clad in a light gray hoodie and matching sweatpants, he broke into an easy jog- of course, an easy jog for Luke would clear a mile in five minutes. His lips were fixed in an idle, thoughtful smile as he moved. His hair was darkened by dampness, the product of the shower he'd taken before leaving Harm to sleep before he started a hospital shift.
It was a hard to believe things were going so well.
His expression darkened the instant he had the thought. His only constant companion, paranoia, stirred from its slumber. His gaze cut across the wide street, and he even spun a neat circle without breaking stride to check behind him. He'd had the sense lately that he was being watched, but he'd yet to spot anyone doing the watching. That meant that either a.) he wasn't being watched at all, or b.) whoever was doing it was damn good. He'd never taken the same route to Harm's place, since he'd started visiting, and he'd never taken anything approximating a direct route. He'd gone on foot, gone by car, gone by bus- he'd done everything in his power to keep himself from creating a pattern that anyone interested in his whereabouts could pick up on.
Harm had convinced him, or at least gotten him to pretend he was convinced, that it was option a. His rapid appraisal of his surroundings still hadn't yielded any unseen watchers, though, so he let himself relax as much as possible and did his best to enjoy the feel of the night air on what little of his skin was exposed.
His relaxation didn't last long. He'd barely cleared six blocks from the building when a car rolled up alongside him, pacing him at well below the speed limit. No, not just a car- a limousine.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he muttered.
The limo was a real classic, long and sleek, gleaming as if it had just come of the assembly line. The windows were tinted thoroughly, obliterating any chance he had of spotting who was inside. It wasn't as if he needed to see to know who was inside the car, though. He didn't know many people who rode in that kind of style or had the gall to simply roll up on him.
Luke slowed to a stop and set his hands a bit defiantly on his hips. His expression had reverted to a tightly controlled mask. Despite the fact that he would have bet his dick on the passenger of the limousine, he still tensed slightly, ready to attack or defend if this ended up being some ploy from Project Twilight or one of Jake's enemies. He doubted any of the latter would try something in such so noticeable in Jake's territory, though. The limo was unusual enough that bystanders would remember it, and might even remember details of who got in or out.
He flicked a glance down the street, back the way he and the limo had come, then returned his attention to the ostentatious car and waited.
