Boston, Massachusetts 2012

Most people would probably be freaking out right now. Not me though. I have been in this situation more times than I can remember and nine times out of ten it's a woman with the gun, crossbow, dagger or whatever weapon they chose. Frankie was shaking like a leaf on a tree. She would shoot me if I didn't calm her down.
The fear in the air was so thick that I could've cut it with a knife.
I have a few abilities to help me escape situations like this one. One of those abilities is to transmit my emotions to other people and absorb theirs. That is probably why there was so much fear in the air. Frankie was just having an adverse reaction to it. I needed to absorb the fear and transmit a calming emotion slowly so as not to make her jumpy. To sudden a change had been known to make people snap.
After a minute or two, she asked tentatively, "Viktor, that you?"
"Who else could it be?" I asked.
She relaxed a little and lowered the gun. "I thought you were possessed. She said, shakily. "You were thrashing and screaming in Latin and some other foreign languages in your sleep. I kinda freaked out and handcuffed you to the bed."
I replied, "It was only a nightmare. I am awake now so you can uncuff me."
"I will but I have some questions first." She said.
"Okay. Ask then." I said
"Why the gun?" She asked.
"Why the handcuffs?" I returned.
"You first," she said.
"Okay. I carry it because I've been mugged a few times." I replied. "The guns full of blanks. Most muggers won't stick around if they think you're armed"
"Really?" She asked as she pulled out the clip and looked at the bullets.
"What kinda dream did you have to make scream in all those different languages?" She said.
"Ah. You know. Being burned alive." I replied.
She looked concerned. "What were the other languages?"
I tried to remember my dream to discern what languages I might have spoken. I think it might have been Latin or Hungarian. "Latin and maybe Hungarian?" I said indecisively.
"How many languages do you speak?" she asked incredulously.
Let see. I speak English, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Latin but it's best not to tell her all those so I said, "Four. English, Hungarian, Latin and Italian. My father was Italian and my mother was Hungarian." That wasn't really a lie.
She looked at me like I had just grown a second head. I guess when you have looks no one expects you to have brains.
"I answered your questions, now you." I said.
"The handcuffs - I'm a detective with BPD. I would've told you last night at the club but most of the people in there would kill me if they thought I was there for business." she said as she laid the gun down, picked up her keys, and walked towards me.
"I figured you were a cop." I said.
"Why's that?" She asked defensively.
"You looked out of place in a club like Extacy" I replied.
"I could say the same as you. She said. "What's a big time lawyer doin' there?"
"I was working on a case." I said.
She looked at me whimsically. "Was it part of your job to get me drunk?"
I laughed, "No. I already learned what I went there for before you walked in."
She smiled, "Good, because I would've kill you if you were using me."
"Well it's a good thing I'm a gentleman, then." I said.
"Do most gentlemen sleep with a girl before a first date?" She asked. She laid the gun on the night stand and grabbed her keys.
"What can I say, you seduced me." I replied.
She laughed at me as she went to release my hands. "Sorry, I handcuffed you."
"It's okay as long as you don't make a habit of it." I replied.
She smiled.

I rubbed my wrists where the cuffs had bitten into them. Then I looked up at her and said, "Sorry, if I scared you."
"It's okay as long as you don't make a habit of it." She replied as she kissed me.
It was then that I happened to look at the clock. It read 7:00 AM. "Crap." I pulled away from her kiss. "Sorry Frankie. I would love to stay with you but I've got to be in court in an hour." I jumped up and started gathering my clothes.
She laughed, "You better take a shower first, Romeo." She grabbed my hand, and led me towards the bathroom.