Into the Void

[Fiona Devlin]

"I robbed from the rich, gave to the poor, and saved a little for a rainy day."

[Rod Stafford]

"Yes, indeed. And, as I recall, you were the poor back then."

He chuckled and relaxed into his seat, enjoying the comfort. He watched a wild, bustling suburbia roll by through the window until the streets started to empty. They passed a two diners, a Chinese take-away, and an Indian curry house.

"Do you have anywhere particular in mind for a bit of scran or are you just starving me until I turn cannibal on you?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: They rolled up to a KFC ::

"How about chicken?"

[Rod Stafford]

The door slammed behind Rod, he fished in his pocket for his wallet, and stepped inside. A few moments later and Fiona was by his side, standing in the queue.

"What took you so long?" he asked, staring at the bright overhead menu.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She laughed ::

"You were out of the car before I could stop you."

:: She ordered a large popcorn chicken to go, trying to ignore the oogling high school boys at a nearby table ::

[Rod Stafford]

One of the gawping youngsters wolf-whistled and the bottom of his extra large coke suddenly fell through, showering his lap. He yelped helplessly and jumped out of his seat. The rest of the boys were now staring at him, pointing, and laughing. Rod smirked.

"Can I have a chicken bucket, a fully loaded zinger meal, and a large coke, please?" he said, then turned to Fiona, adding wisely: "We have to have a bucket on a stakeout - I saw it in a movie once."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona glanced over her shoulder in amusement then back at Rod with a smirk of her own ::

"Alright. Two cokes please."

[Rod Stafford]

Rod thanked the sour-faced teenager behind the counter and paid for the food. He followed Fiona out the door and to the car. The bright headlights flashed when the doors unlocked. But once the door was open, Rod hesitated.

"Fiona, are you sure it's okay to bring this stuff in there?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona knew he wasn't a slob, and there were no sides like gravy to panic about ::

"It's fine, Rene. Just keep everything in the bucket."

[Rod Stafford]

Not needing a second invitation, Rod plunged firmly into his seat, closed the car door, and tucked ravenously into his greasy chicken wings. He saw Fiona delicately picking at her popcorn chicken and offered her the bucket.

"'Ere, take some!" he said thickly, "It's good."

[Fiona Devlin]

"I'm driving, silly. I'll have some when we get to the park. That was a nice trick you pulled back there."

[Rod Stafford]

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said casually, glancing through the window.

He sucked on his coke until it made a gargling noise, Fiona gave him one sideways glance and he immediatly stopped. His burger had been very spicy. The wall of skyward-reaching buildings thinned the further they went from the town centre, and up ahead they saw a parting in the concrete jungle where a pair of dark wrought iron gates stood open. A long footpath flanked by pale glowing lamps stretched into the distance.

"Here we are," Fiona said, bringing the car to a stop. Rod hugged the bucket to his chest.

"This is coming with us!"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Her cheeks puffed as she fought off a laugh, then nodded before getting out. The park was quiet as they started walking, and Fiona fished a piece of chicken from Rod's bucket ::

[Rod Stafford]

"This is nice."

He chomped into a chicken leg, while cradling the bucket in his other arm. The path was flanked on both sides by trees with bare branches creaking overhead. Here the air was still and damp and moonlight shimmered against the tarmac. He took a lungfull of crisp air and sighed.

"I really appreciate you joining me on my first patrol, Fi. A shame it won't always be like this..."

He took another hefty bite and asked:

"What is the Colonel's Secret Recipe?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"Not a problem. I don't imagine it getting too bizarre."

:: She paused for another bite ::

"He never told me, but I've almost got it figured out."

[Rod Stafford]

"Very funny."

He sneered but her face remained straight so he returned to his chicken. He could never tell if she was being serious or not about things like that; the more he thought about it the more he was convinced Fiona had the power to convince him the Easter Bunny was her second cousin or something. He suddenly chuckled to himself and spluttered.

"Oh, Fiona... get this... you'll love this... a vampire, a ghoul, and a werewolf walk into a bar..."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona raised a hand to shush him as she heard something ::

[Rod Stafford]

The moment he saw Fiona's hand raise, he fell silent, and his senses became alert. He stared straight ahead and waited. The air nearby seemed to prickle and he pointed in the direction he'd felt it.

[Redcap]

:: Something stirred off the beaten path, and a dwarvish little man appeared just ahead of them. He looked alarmed as he spotted the two of them, and froze ::

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona's eyes widened, and then narrowed as she stared down at the little man ::

"I KNEW IT!!!" she cried.