A low growl emanated from the damp alley that thinly separated Race Street from Cherry Street. In the descending dusk, a carousel of limbs played out a symphony of heavy blows and shuffling scuffles as two dark shadows fought their way down the alley. The orchestra of groans and grunts, dancing its way down the dimly lit lane in evergrowing darkness as one figure lurched free, and the other gave chase... like shadow puppets played out on the walls of the alley. 

Theo, hot on the trail of her target, gave a shrill grunt as she vaulted after the shadowy silhouette of a man much larger than her lithe frame. She was close enough for his frigid blue eyes to clearly pierce the fading twilight between them as he glanced over his shoulder; the warm scent of vanilla and bourbon teasing her senses as reaching fingers clawed the collar of his coat.  Feeling her straining grasp, he gave a wicked smirk, pale teeth glinting in the growing moonlight as he darted between two dusty brick buildings that bordered race street. With a triumphant grin, she lunged after him; her nails tearing at the fine fabric of his collar as an unexpected weight slammed her into the wall of the adjacent building. 

The suffocating odour of oil and grease filled her lungs as a calloused hand clasped tightly over her mouth, muscular fingers digging into her cheeks and smothering any sound of protest. An arm pressed against her throat as a shoulder pinned her chest against the wall, a knee digging painfully into her thigh. She couldn't bite, couldn't headbutt, couldn't kick or stomp. And with this new assailant tucked so closely to her body, even her angry fists could find no effective place to land. Every instinctual reaction was cut off.

To little avail, she struggled wildly, stretching toward the knife in her boot; a thrill of fear rolling through her as she realized how quickly she had descended from predator to prey. She knew better. Never become so focused that you lose your awareness. How could she have let this happen? How could she have missed another one?

Woofus barked like crazy, and that was odd for the lethargic animal. It was enough to rouse James from his slumber in the office, which was also uncommon. Blinking a few times, he rubbed his eyes and slowly rose from his chair. "Ohhhhhh fuck me," he groaned as he stretched his back and twisted. All the while, Woofus continued to bark uncontrollably. James, still half asleep, stumbled his way to the door and grabbed the bat beside it. Opening slowly, he glanced around the moonlit lot of Race Street Automotive. However, when his eyes finally focused on Woofus, he was at the brick walling opposite of the entrance.

"Woofus!" he clicked his tongue loudly, knocking the bat against the frame of the door. "Quiet!" The command was sharp, but quiet. Woofus would not stop though. Finally, James drug himself out of the office and made his way across the yard to bring the dog inside. When he approached, however, he heard the scuffle over the other side of the wall. Woofus whimpered softly as it neared them, and James commanded the dog to go to his room. For once, Woofus didn't fail to listen. Turning quickly, the animal tucked tail and swiftly made his way to his doghouse.

James, on the other hand, sat the bat down and borrowed the bumper of a nearby car to vault himself up to the ledge. Peeking his head over the wall, he caught a glimpse of something that made his stomach churn. A woman and a man fighting, but that wasn't what made him uneasy. The icy-blue gaze of the male that pierced through the black of night. That was what sat him on edge, and he knew he had to act quickly...

Pulling himself up and over the ledge, he landed softly on the ground with nary a thud; sock covered feet running quickly after the two. Catching up to the woman was easiest and he threw his weight into her, knocking her into the opposite wall. He rushed himself upon her and pressed her tightly against the wall, blocking off as much movement as he could; and certainly making sure she couldn't complain while he kept his head on a swivel. "Shhhh, shhh! Calm down!" he whispered in a short tone, knowing he had to give plenty of time for the male to get away.

Squinting and catching a glimpse of the blue-eyed man make his way around the corner, James finally turned to look her in the eyes. His eyes were blue, but nothing like the other's.

"Do you have any idea who that was? That is -not- a guy you want to try and make your mark, lady. Trust me, I probably just saved ya life..." He looked back down the alleyway before nodding. "Okay. I'm gonna let ya go now, don't scream, okay?" He looked back to her before stepping back... FAR back. Just in case she decided to try and attack him now.

Theo lunged away as soon as he stepped back. "Fucking moron," she hissed under her breath; shouldering past him roughly as she made for the corner around which her target had disappeared, knife in hand. But only a few running steps in, she was lurched back once again by a rough, strong grip around her wrist. With a silent huff of frustration, Theo whipped around, aiming a sharp slice straight for James' ribs. An abrupt twist and sweeping kick, and the unsuspecting white knight found himself breathless with a face full of stars. 

Stradling his chest, Theo pressed the gleaming silver blade against his throat. "You just cost me six months of work. Fucking touch me again and I swear to every god you can name, I'll take it out of your hide," she hissed with a vehement glare. Lip curled and nose twitching in anger, she echoed his words with a level of snark and sarcasm that was both infuriating and endearing, "I'm gonna let you go now. Don't scream. Okay?"

Blade at the ready, she leaned away slowly, watching his reaction carefully before standing and backing away fully. 

Hopping backward to dodge the slice did little to save his jacket as the blade cut clean through the fabric. However, what really caught him, was the boot aside his head that sent him spinning to the ground. Groaning, he saw bright, twinkling stars in front of his face... Until he realized it was the glint of light off of the same blade from before. The cool steel pressed against his throat and he could feel the hungry steel biting into his skin. Her eyes, cold as winter's worst, stared at him; more frigid than the icy gaze of a hungry beast.

Coughing as she removed the blade, he pushed himself off the ground. Smirking, he shook his head. "Ain't gonna scream from a woman in a fight. Ain't gonna scream for nobody." He waved his hand in her direction, as if shooing her off. "Go on if your dead set on chasin' that fella..." He cleared his throat as he wiped away the thin trickle of blood from his throat where the blade had been pressed. Not deep enough to be an issue, but enough to cause annoyance.

"But dead set is all your gonna be if ya chase 'em down." James turned his back on her. "Don't be stupid... Go home. If you're lookin' for work, come find me at 231 Race Street. I run the automotive shop... I'm sure with a kick like that I could find ya some work." He rubbed his jaw and began walking off toward the other end of the alleyway.

He'd given the man plenty of time to loose her at this point, right? Regardless, he'd need to reach out to Christian. Thoughts plagued his mind... What if it was Carlisle? He'd definitely saved the broad... If it was one of the brothers? Still might have saved her. With a kick like that though? What if she was an actual danger to them? Six months of work... What had she meant by that? Six months for a mark was a bit much. Though that kind of diligence would be great for boosting cars.

Pausing at the end of the alleyway, he tugged his cigarettes from his jacket and lit one. "Ugh, fuckin' head... Helluva kick on that broad." Puffing away, he sighed and finally started to turn and head back north to Race Street and the auto shop.

Inconsolably irate, Theo groaned a long sigh of frustration as she set out down the alley. She was made. The man she'd been following was not only long gone by now, but - worse still - he knew she was on to him and had likely seen her face. There was no use in giving chase at this point. Thanks to her haughty knight in shining armour, she was forced to fall back and regroup... find another approach. And gods only knew how long that would take. 

She'd exhausted all her resources already. She had no other leads... or did she? This self-righteous bastard had cost her the most important mark of her life. At the very least she had a right to milk him for information. And... if she could give him a little hell in the meantime, it might just ease the angst in her throat. Smirking like the Cheshire cat, she slipped a small throwing knife from one of her many pockets as she stalked back toward the alley. 

A sharp whistle whizzed through the alley, the wind of it tickling his air as it lightly brushed his face. With a soft 'thunk', the aerial blade sank into the wall across the alley, pinning his still-smouldering cigarette to it. Chuckling lightly at James' expression, Theo tugged the blade free. Plucking the cigarette from it, she tore away the ruined bit and took a long drag from what remained... shooting him a bullying wink. "Oooh no," she cooed, "Don't think you're gettin' off that easy." 

Sliding the little dagger back into place, she grinned wickedly as she sauntered over slowly, "Your little stunt tonight just set me back at least a year. So you're stuck with me until we're even, Darling. For starters, you can tell me everything you think you know about your little friend. Then we can discuss proper reparations."

James stood there, blank-faced and blinking. "Ya know... I don't usually hit women. I frown heavily on it. But I'm really considerin' lightin' your world up."

Grumbling, he pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "That fella? Fuck if I'm gonna just tell ya what I know. Ya wanna know that? Gonna take a helluva lot more than cuttin' my ciggie in half with your cute little stunt. You want info? Ya work for it. Same as I have." He grunted and headed around the corner to the car lot with the woman on his heels. Stopping at the fence, he grumbled more as he looked up at the barbwire that ran in circles across the top. In his haste and genius, he'd left his keys in the office... And of course, the fence was locked.

"Ya can start with a bobby pin if ya got one?" He looked at her and exhaled, unsure what was smoke from his cigarette and what was just his breath from the cold.

Theo laughed bitterly at his retort, "You could try." For a moment she alllmost seemed entertained... right up until his quip about work. And, just like that, her switch was flipped again, "I DID WORK FOR IT YOU CLUELESS FUCKING IGNORAMOUS!!!" Sucking air loudly through her teeth, she seethed as she followed him around to the locked fence, a bitter laugh escaping her throat as she watched the reality of their predicament fall across his face. "I spent SIX. FUCKING. MONTHS. tracking that monster. And YOU fucked it up... all because of some smug Cinderella complex." 

Rolling her eyes she shoved past him, fishing a professional-grade lock pick set from yet another pocket. Shaking her head, she knelt down by the lock and within seconds a soft 'pop' echoed down the street. Tucking the picks neatly back into her jacket, she slid the gate open for him with a triumphant smirk. Woofus - for once - snarling menacingly as he charged toward them. 

James, impressed, smiled at her. However, he quickly realized that Woofus was about to make a huge mistake. Stepping quickly in front of the girl, he placed himself between her and the charging dog.

"WOOFUS! RYADOM!"

Woofus looked up and locked his legs out, skidding across the ground until he came to a halt.

"LYEZHAT!"

Woofus laid down with a bit of a whimper.

"MYESTO," James called as he stared at the dog who lowered his gaze.

"Good boy." He reached down and patted the dog's head softly before sliding his hand under and scratching his chin. "That's a good boy, Woofus. Goooood boy." Standing, he waved the woman along and slid the gate shut, locking the chain around it again. "You can warm up in the office... THAT door is unlocked." He chuckled as he made his way to the back of the lot and grabbed his bat before spinning back and making his way to the office.

"Nice work with the gate out there..." he commented as he passed into the office, shutting the door, and moving to take a seat at his desk. He sat the bat beside him, leaned against the inside of the desk, as he looked up at her. "Well, feel free to pull up a chair. I'm sure we'll not be taking our eyes off each other for a while."

Theo, unflinching, arched a brow at the commands. "Interesting," she mused softly, eyeing James with a twinkling smirk. Stepping in, she cooed at the dog as James shut and locked the gate, "Molodets. Ko mne, hm? Ko mne." Wiggling on the spot, Woofus panted and wagged his tail... but didn't move from the place he'd been told to stay. Chuckling softly in warm appreciation, Theo inched forward; hand outstretched. "Khorosho, Molodets, " she reinforced with a smile, allowing the dog ample time to sniff her hand before reaching to pet him. With a contented 'woof' he licked her and nuzzled into her pats, drawing a genuine giggle from her lips as she praised him, "Otlichno!"

For a few long moments, she scratched his chin and ruffled the fur around his neck, before snapping her attention back to James... who was motioning her toward the door. Standing, she patted the dog one more time. "Domoy," she told him as she stood, "Go home." 

Sauntering into the office, she smiled as she slid into a chair, propping her boots up on his desk. "No biggie. Gate locks like that are fucking child's play when you know what you're doing." In the warm light of the office, she eyed him properly. His dark hair was well kept, meaning he was no slouch despite portraying himself as a working man. Plenty of ink. So he obviously had no concern for typical suburban niceties. Callouses on both sides of his hands made her suspect he was a fighter as well as a worker. His features seemed wholly American, yet his partial knowledge of multiple languages made her question his associations if not his ethnicity. At least a tangential knowledge of city players lead her to believe it was likely the former rather than the latter. All in all... there were worse ways to ruin your night. 

She analyzed him for a long moment... allowing him to do the same... as she calculated her next move. She needed cover... and intel. The people she was after DEFINITELY had ties to the underworld. And it was far from unlikely that this bloke might, too. So... maybe she could salvage this job after all. And, if not... at least she had some nice eye candy for the next few days while she worked it all out. After an uncomfortably long silence, Theo cracked a smile, "Sweetness, there's nothing you could do to me that I can't defend. And it certainly wouldn't do me a damn bit a good to off the last fucking connection to my job, now would it? So the way I see it, we're both safe. If you wanna sleep, be my guest. I, for one, could certainly use the rest." 

Lowering her feet from the desk, she clasped her fingers as she leaned forward, "And, seeing as we're currently beeing all amicable and chummy... think you might be in the mood for proper introductions? Or you wanna keep playing this all close to the breast?" She grinned across the table, batting a blonde curl away from her face. The curl of her lips was sweet and inviting, but the glint in her eye remained alarmingly edgy, "I play to my atmosphere. So you go right ahead and decide how we're gonna act going forward."

James tugged on his cigarette for a while, continuing his silence as she leaned forward. She was quite the looker. Blond hair that curled and waved down her back. Obviously she was well toned, so he could only imagine the bombshell beneath the clothing. But rest? He wasn't certain he -should- rest after that heel to the head...

After a moment more of her just sitting there, he finally shifted in his seat and nodded. "Aye. Ya can sleep. If ya want, there's a back room that has a couch in it. The door only locks from the inside and can't be unlocked from the outside. I'm not gonna sleep, head still spinnin' and all. Nice moves, by the way."

He huffed and looked toward the door that led to the garage. "Might just go fuckin' work on one of my orders. I was asleep before this anyway. Might as well get shit done, yeah?" He shrugged and pointed toward the back.

"Doors open back there. Couch is free to ya. Was serious about work though." He pushed himself up and took off his jacket, looking at the loose hanging material where it had been sliced and groaned before tossing it into the oil rag bin. He'd rip it up later and make use of it.

"Least I can do if I fucked up your job that bad, eh? A nice, warm place ta lay down?" He shrugged and opened the door to the garage bays and flicked a switch, illuminating the place. Two cars sat in the bay, one Cadillac V16 limo, and one Ford Model A Coupe. James looked at her one more time and nodded back toward the room. "Go ahead, feel free to rest. Name's James... People round these parts call me Jimmy though."

He left the door open and slid out into the colder garage, slipping into a mechanic's jumper and zipping it up to both stay warmer and at least keep his pretty, white button down clean. He moved to the Model A and popped open the hood, reaching for a rolling cart of tools and bringing it closer before beginning to tinker with things. She could hear things moving and clanging, and the occasional curse words leading up to, "Fuckin' God dammit, twist you piece of rusted ass, frozen up shit!" Followed by a -SNAP- sound and more cursing, also followed by a small piece of metal flying across the room and into the garage door...

Theo chuckled softly as she stepped into the garage, narrowly dodging an airborne hunk of steel as a violently liberated bolt head sailed across the room and clattered off the door. Skipping over to the Model A, she peered over Jimmy's shoulder and gave a soft 'tch-tch' before shaking her head and sliding over to the coatrack. Slipping out of her jacket, she slid into a spare (and endearingly oversized) jumper before moving over to the shelves-upon-shelves of tools. Grabbing a small propane torch, she nudged him over with a grin; rifling through his cart of tools as she hummed softly to herself. 

Torch, flashlight, mallet, vise grips, wrench and chisel. For a moment, she disappeared into the office, returning shortly with a few scraps of what looked like his old jacket... now wet. "Bolts frozen to the cylinder block, eh? Always a royal pain in the ass. Do you mind?" she asked without bothering to wait for his consent. 

Twisting her long hair up into a loose bun, she secured it with a pen from his pocket before handing him the flashlight with a perky smile. "Hold that right there," she pointed to the outer edge of the engine block as she knelt to peer under the car. After a few moments of finagling herself into the proper position, she nodded with a satisfied grunt as she straightened, "Yep. There's an access point from below near the wheel... if you're small enough." Grinning, she snatched the torch, vise, and rags from the cart and slid under the car. A few strikes, and the soft hiss of the flame could be heard... along with a gleeful chuckle. 

"See, the problem is the temperature. Makes the bore grip down around the threads. So lubricant won't penetrate far enough into the threads to make much of a difference. And any of your common acids have to sit for so long that you end up with chemical metal embrittlement. Thus your flying bolt head. The easiest solution is heat. Wrap the bolt so it stays cool...er. And make short sweeps to the outside of the mount. It can over-expand the bore, but that's a quick fix. Just bore out and rethread the block side holes and you're good to go with a slightly larger bolt," she prattled; her voice echoing off the undercarriage with a distinct metal twang. "I think we can pry this one loose by just tightening it all the way through to the other side." 

"Hold that light steady for me up there, will ya?" she called up as the torch suddenly fell silent.

A bit of grunting, grating, and a few loud taps and the offending bolt rattled to the floor and rolled away. Theo, smiling like the mad hatter rolled herself out from under the car and handed him the grips and torch. "Want help with the rest or are you one of those 'don't touch my things' types? I got a bang-up design for a nut splitter if you've got an extra box wrench one or two sizes too big..." 

James, impressed, held the flashlight and smirked. She was a pain in the ass for sure but, she had talent. And she was a LOT smaller which helped with getting into places he and his fellas couldn't. The tell-tale sound of the bolt releasing and falling from the block made him chuckle.

"Well I'll be damned, fuck me Sunday. We've been working that one, single, bolt all week. Five fuckin' minutes and you got it on the floor. Color me impressed, doll." He took the items from her and helped her up as she questioned him...

"Anyone ever tell ya you're a triple threat?" James chuckled softly as he turned toward his bench of tools. "I'd enjoy the company honestly. Plenty of box wrenches over here. Multiples of every size available." Looking toward the garage door, he thought about the chill in the air. "Heya doll, can ya let Woofus inside first? I'll attach the lift while you're doing so?"

He looked at her and smiled, nodding to her response before heading for the lift and rolling it back. Securing each strap only took a moment, and he had all but the last one snugged tightly before she could even return. "Annnnd done!" he chuckled out as he finished connecting the strap when she walked up. "Thanks for lettin' Woofus in. Now, we're ready to drop this block. Let's see that bang-up design of yours, eh?"

James winked at her and stepped aside so she could get in the tools and see what she could come up with. After her bolt extraction, he trusted her enough to do that at least... Making his way back toward the door, he pointed at the radio when she looked. "They got some sappy story about some small town gal findin' love with an Englishman. Helps pass tha time. Or, at least that's what I tell myself." He chuckled as he flipped the radio on. No sooner than him turning around, a voice crackled through the receiver and began running their lines...

"Are you ready for it folks? It's the repeat of this week's episode of, 'Our Gal Sunday'! Listen in to hear the romantic tales of your favorite characters and prepare to have your hearts tugged on! Now remember when we left off last week, our gal Mindy had just ..."

The show continued as James looked at Theo with a smirk. "Told ya... Am I good or what?" he snickered and made his way over to her, noting the look on her face. "Hey. Don't judge. Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic?" He laughed and looked over her shoulder. "So whattaya got?"

Theo snickered as she slipped out from under the car. Air-boxing at him, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "That's not the only thing I can have on the floor in minutes," she teased, "Maybe you. Maybe your pants. Who's ta guess." Turning toward the office the winked over her shoulder, yelling over the blustery wind that ripped through the door as beckoned the dog inside, "Aye. But most people don't say it like it's a good thing. You, though... I bet you're no saint yourself. Takes one to know one and all that jazz." 

Sliding back into the garage, she arched a brow over her shoulder... giving him 'one of those' looks as the radio kicked on. Shaking her head, she simply chuckled... comparing several wrenches to the bolt size before settling on one that seemed the right size. "Mmm..kay," she grabbed a small flat-head and held them up, "See the idea is you nip the tip off the chisel bit and tack-weld it inside the wrench here... an awl tip'll work too. That way, when you place it over the nut and twist, it bites into the nut. Just give the handle a few taps, and the nut'll split right off. ...but that doesn't go much good if the bolts themselves are still frozen. Which..." Passing both tools to him, she stooped to examine the rest of the remaining bolts, "... these might be. I think our best bet is gonna be the torch. Should make 'em pop use pretty easy. But we can try to cut 'em if you want." 

Glancing up, she tried to hide the pesky smile that forced its way to the surface, tickling the corner of her lips. So he was cute and a romantic? If he really was as much of a badass as he made himself out to be, that could be a very bad mixture. 

Shaking her head, she silently berated herself - focus on the job! 

Grabbing the torch she stooped over the engine, careful to avoid the hoses and melty-bits. Pointing to the vice grips, she waved him over. "C'mon. I'll heat. You torque." 

As he leaned close, Theo chuckled softly, nudging him with her shoulder. "Just think, Mr. Romanitic... just a few minutes ago I was hurling knives at your face. And now you're close enough to kiss me. AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME." Laughing out loud, she shouldered him again as he blushed and pouted, "I kid. I kid. Don't worry..." she winked and nodded toward the radio, "I won't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret." Pausing for a moment, Theo eyed him as she struggled with her own decision. "And..." she chewed her lip, "my friends call me Theo. Or... at least they would... if I had any friends." 

Hell... in for a penny, in for a pound, right? If she was going to see this job through to the end, she'd be in Philly for a looong time. No harm in making connections... especially if the family could use them later on. This was a decent garage. It had potential. And... so did he, assuming he'd be willing. Couldn't hurt to find out. She'd need to lay low for a few days anyway... at least. Might as well feel it out. 

"Heh, yeah. Not usually in the habit of havin' dames kick my ass. Not sure I wanted to know tha name and remember it..." He laughed, but quickly corrected his nerves to a smile. "But you're alright in my book." He was sweating bullets, even in the near freezing weather outside. Whether it was her comments about dropping things quickly, or the kiss comment that sent a light, rosy tint to his cheeks he wasn't certain... Or perhaps it was the scenario that ran through his mind in that instant.

Her kidding had eased the tension slightly, but at the same time there had been a part of him that wished she wasn't. Then again, maybe she'd only said it for her own dignity with the way she looked at him. At least if she was sticking around, he and his fellas wouldn't mind the eye candy; so long as they could handle getting shown up by a woman.

Grabbing a bolt with the vice grips, he nodded to her. Slowly and meticulously she heated the bolt until he was able to start getting a wiggle from it. "Mmm, I feel it moving." He twisted, applying pressure as she maintained a constant, low heat on it to make it just pliable enough to work. Soon enough the bolt gave way and he pulled it from the car. "There we go!" He grinned and released the grips hold, dropping the bolt onto his rolling table nearby.

Brains, brawn, and body; the three b's. This girl had them all. She certainly knew her way around the motor, and if she could drive half as good as her work then she'd be a great asset. She might even bring in more clientele if guys wanted the hot, young blonde to work on their engines...

Reaching for another, he set the grips and looked at her.

"Two down, let's pop these others, lift the engine, then maybe grab a coffee as the sun rises? I think at this rate we'll have this beast outta here within the half."

With a curt nod, the two set to work and, as he'd guessed, they were readying for the last bolt before the half-hour had passed. "Mk, check the straps one more time, make sure the lift is prepared to fully hold the weight..." He checked each strap carefully as he spoke, then moved himself to the last one. With a tug, he nodded. "Secure. Let's do this?" He grinned at her. The look his boys were gonna give him when they got there and the engine was removed, and then the even more incredulous look he'd get when he explained Theo's part in it all. It was going to be glorious.

A last, satisfying, twist followed by the groaning of the engine lift complaining with the added weight to it's cold frame, and James was beaming from ear to ear. Grease, oil, and blood from where he'd banged his knuckles as one of the bolts slipped covered his hands. His jumper was exceptionally grimy and filthy at that point, and he couldn't have been happier. As he looked at Theo he was overcome with happiness and before he knew it, he'd grabbed her face with those dirty hands and kissed her then turned to set the tools down. "AHHHH you're a fuckin' God-send doll! I've been working on this fuckin' block for a few weeks now an...d..." It slowly dawned on him as he turned back around to look at her. He was shocked, and worried she'd be upset... But he couldn't help but laugh...

"Oh shit, I'm sorry! You got..." He grabbed a towel and reached up to her face. "You got a little dirt on your little nose." Wiping it off, he smiled at her, trying not to laugh again and hoping she wasn't angry. Last thing he needed was the young spit-fire to go wild on him again. His jaw still hurt from their previous bout.

Theo blinked... a little dumbfounded. Had... had that...? Yep. The expression on James' face confirmed it. And he looked even more shocked than she felt. Slowly, she started to chuckle, the melodic sound swelling to fill the garage with a bubbling warmth that seemed to chase away just a little of the early morning chill. Brushing a loose curl away from her eyes, she blushed as he cleaned the grease from her face. There was something unbearably endearing about the way he mentioned her 'little nose'. 

Chuckling softly she fidgetted a little, wiping her hands on the front of her commandeered jumper. "I... uh... Ballsy. I like it. Not really... used the whole... Italian casual kissing thing, but... I can swing," she joked, leaning to peck him back with purposefully comical exaggeration. 

"So... sunrise coffee, yeah?" She asked, spinning the towel. A loud snap echoed through the garage as she popped his backside with it as she headed for the office. From the doorway, the tell-tale sound of a zipper danced enticingly out into the garage as she stepped out of her jumper and slipped back into her jacket. 

"Know any good places? Or you more a DIY kinda guy? Maybe... maybe we could... do breakfast? Discuss arrangements? Or... or not, you know. .... whatever." Crossing her legs, she perched atop his desk, waiting patiently as he finished up in the garage. 

James jumped as the towel snapped across his backside, and he watched her saunter away with a chuckle. Wiping his hands as clean as they'd come, he slipped himself out of his jumper and followed.

"Yeah. I don't think breakfast is out of the question. There's a few good spots open already if you wanna head out that way."

He turned and then headed down the hallway, pushing open the far door. He was in the dark room for a moment with only a slight bit of shuffling around before he walked out with a new jacket on. "Good thing I had my dry-cleaning brought here." He smirked before slipping on his shoes at his desk.

"Breakfast, arrangements, more work... Sounds like a plan to me. Guilty Pleasure's Cafe isn't that far from here and they have a great breakfast selection. Walk or drive?"

He held up a set of Mercedes keys and smirked.

"Keys to the Benz," Theo quipped cheerfully as she snagged them from him. "I'm always down to drive. And a man's choice in car is one of the best ways to get to know him. So... Where's your baby parked?" 

Nearly skipping, Theo followed him back out the lot and slid happily behind the wheel of a '29 Gazelle. Squeezing the wheel, she felt her way into the car before testing the ignition, and giggled happily as it gently purred to life, "Oh, you're a sweet little thing, aren't you, my pretty." Waving excitedly, Theo urged James toward the passenger seat as she pulled through the lot's sliding gate. Bouncing in her seat, she waited by the curb as he closed and locked the gate behind her. 

As he slid into the car, she was grinning from ear to ear, "Four-cylinder, convertible top, perfect for cruising. I bet she feels amazing on an open dirt road... wind in your hair... nothing but tires, sky, and freedom." Her eyes sparkled as she pulled away from the curb, imagining the open road... no cramped city streets or incandescent lights, no connection, no obligation. It was a pipe dream... but one clearly rooted in the deepest regions of her soul. The fantasy of freedom on wheels. 

There was no one on the early morning streets of Philly just yet. So they purred and prowled down the short jaunt to 'Guilty Pleasures' without hindrance... Theo purposely missing a few turns to take the long way around. She never pushed the car to its full limit, but definitely enjoyed testing it on the longer-than-necessary drive before sliding neatly into an open space in the sparsely-populated parking lot. With a small pout, she killed the ignition, hopping out to skip around and playfully open the door for Jimmy as she handed him the keys. "Shall we," she cooed, teasingly offering her arm as he stretched and stood.

James chuckled and snagged the keys from her as she held them out.

"I'd have asked if ya were lost, but then I saw it in your eyes, doll. You were just enjoyin' tha smooth ride this baby gives. She's a treat, I tell ya." He gave the hood of the car a soft pat before grinning at her. "Maybe we take'er out on tha big road another day an' letcha open up on her. Push her to'er limits."

He offered his arm. "Well Theo, after your hard work this morning, and kicking my ass, I think it's high time I got you a proper breakfast and coffee, hmm? Let's head inside. I promise, Guilty Pleasures is great..."

Taking her arm, he opened the door and entered the building.