"You didn't get it?" the shrill voice echoed across the empty parking lot from the phone's speaker.

Hijack was quick to lower the volume before he moved it back to his ear. "You sound like a rabid chipmunk. Maybe you should give up the helium, Surge," he said. The ringing in his ear faded so that he could more clearly hear her angry muttering and the tap of her shoes as she paced in what he assumed would be her office. He'd only visited the cluttered room once but the dark wood floors left an impression.

"My sincerest apologies, I must be a little upset because someone screwed up and didn't get me my diamond," she said pointedly. "What went wrong?"

"Bad schematics," Hijack answered. He waved to Knightmare who had grabbed a plastic bag from behind a loose grate cover. The mad pulled a granola bar out as he left, dark purple clothes fading away to an ordinary pair of jeans and a green shirt. "You should update your employees on the basics of information trading. I can't lock down a security system if I've got bad intel."

"You're right, you're right. I'll have a word with them," Surge assured him.

Hijack made quiet agreements and relayed the details of the failed heist as he pulled off his brightly colored outerwear. His eyes scanned the garage every few seconds until he'd pulled on a pair of loose sweatpants and a sweater. The fabric was barely gentle enough not to aggravate the sore muscles on his back and arm. "Now about my payment."

"You didn't finish the job. No diamond, no deal."

"Are you kidding? What about hazard pay?" Hijack kicked off one of his boots, ducking when it accidentally thumped against the ground and shot up at the ceiling. It whizzed by his head and he snagged it by the laces before it could do any damage to one of the cars parked nearby. "I wasted an entire week on this shit and because of the information you supplied, I don't get paid. That's bull, Surge."

She laughed and her desk chair squeaked on its wheels as she settled into it. "If you had done the job properly there would have been no hazard," she pointed out. "And I did give you that bit of dough up front. What you really want can't be split into partial pay. I'm sure you'll find another way to help me out in exchange for it."

Jake jammed his gear away and tucked it into a false bottom in his trunk. The carpeted panel slid back into place seamlessly. "And what exactly would that be?"

"I still need the diamond, don't I? Give me a little time to come up with something else and I'll get back to you," she promised.

Any argument against it died in Jake's throat before it could move past an idle thought. She had him pinned down in a corner and she knew it. There was little he wouldn't do to get ahold of the information she'd dangled in front of his face two months ago. News about a guy digging into deaths caused by supers didn't stay secret for long in the Odium, the cleverly named network of villains and miscreants that Jake had wormed his way into.

"You little shit." The words came out like a hiss between his clenched teeth. "Fine, whatever, I'm going home. Call me when you have something competent for me to do." He threw the black phone into his pocket and locked the car. It chirped twice and then settled, as silent as the others around it. Jake dug the heels of his hands into his closed eyes, willing the lurking headache to lurk itself back to the hell it was trying to crawl out of. He groaned and blinked away the spots dancing between the flickering lights of the garage.

Amidst the splotchy blobs and squiggling lines, he spotted a familiar head of dark red hair hurrying towards the elevator. His heart skipped more beats than a confused drummer and started pounding just as hard. Barefoot and still tying the thin rope of his sweatpants, he raced outside and to the fire escape. The ladder gave him a moment of resistance before it came loose and slid down. Jake was amazed no one threw open their window as he rattled by on the rickety stairs and ladders. It could have had something to do with the rise in robberies in the area, in which case he was glad it kept his neighbors from nosing into his business.

He slid feet first through his open window and dove onto the couch. The remote dug into his hip uncomfortably. Jake smashed his finger down on the big red button and stretched his legs out over the arm of the couch. Only a second later, the front door opened. He forced his breathing to even out and rubbed lazily at his face.

"Oh, babe I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Hannah asked softly, lowering her voice as if she could soothe him back to sleep. "What are you doing out here instead of in bed?" She kicked her sneakers off and left them by the door.

"I missed you and wanted to make sure you got here safe. I must have dozed off. What time is it?" he asked.

"Nearly three in the morning," Hannah answered after a quick glance at her watch. The tiny silver hands ticked on steadily. "Hospital kept me longer than I meant it to." She leaned over the back of the couch and kissed his forehead. Her nose wrinkled and she replaced her lips with her wrist. "Are you feeling alright? Your forehead is all sweaty."

Jake shook his head but eagerly leaned into her touch as she ran her fingers down his cheek and over his neck. "I feel fine, but if you'd like to do a more thorough examination, I won't resist, nurse Harris." He tried and failed to pull her over the back of the couch into his lap.

"Cut that out, you'll break the couch," Hannah scolded him. She scurried by towards the bedroom.

"How was work?" Jake called after her and fell back against the lumpy couch cushion.

"The usual, crisis and mayhem and sick people," she called back from the other room. When she returned, her jeans had been exchanged for a pair of leggings and a loose shirt she'd dug out of his closet. "You?"

"Eh, nothing exciting. Same old news."

"How did you ever manage to become a front page headliner if you can't find anything exciting to write about? I mean you are blocks away from The Aerie and nothing exciting happened? Honestly, babe, you're kinda shit at your job."

Jake slapped a hand to his chest and gasped. "You wound me. Come kiss it better," he demanded playfully.

Hannah was nearly close enough for him to grab when she stopped and scowled at the open window. "Speaking of old news, haven't I warned you about leaving your window open before?" she snapped. "Anyone could get in through there."

"I opened it to let the smoke out from earlier," he explained. The pounding in his chest was barely audible over the rush in his ears. Of course the window was still open. Could she see the tracks of dirt from where he'd thrown himself over the sill? Was a courteous neighbor looking out their window up towards where the noise of his hasty climb had ended?

Hannah pushed it down roughly and the glass rattled in the pane. "Jake, I'm serious. You can't be so careless."

"I'm on the fifth floor, relax," he said soothingly. He sat up and reached for her, glad that she finally took his hand and allowed him to pull her down.

"It's right on the fire escape, someone could definitely climb that," she chided. The hard edge to her voice had already begun to soften. "Plus, key under the mat? You can't hide your key there forever. Someone is going to find it eventually."

"And you need to stop worrying so much." He grasped her chin gent;y between two fingers and wobbled her head side to side. "I think the big bad villains have bigger things to worry about than little old me." Jake was surprised to see the worry suddenly redouble in her eyes. Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth as she gnawed at it. "Hannah," he called, trying to snap her out of the sudden funk she'd worked herself into.

"Just be careful, please?" Hannah whispered. Their foreheads met with a quiet and gentle thud. "You never know what could be out there looking for trouble."

Jake tilted her head up to kiss her. "Good thing my middle name is no-trouble-here," he mumbled against her lips.

"Dork," she laughed, shoving him backwards so he landed sprawled out on the couch. The remote dug into his back and he winced. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just... some idiot opened the door and hit my back. It's no big deal." He dug the remote out from the cushions and tossed it onto the paper littered coffee table. "Come relax now, you need rest."

There were mumbled words about the benefits of sleeping in a proper bed but he could hardly hear them with her mouth pressed to his shoulder. They'd move to the bed eventually, after they'd both sequestered the memories of the night away into the parts of their minds that stayed locked up like crypts. Some things weren't meant to see the light of day.