Above the East River (open)

[Gambit]

(( set after "Don't Bother None", after Halloween and even after Gambit's birthday ))

With a cigarette in hand, Gambit was sitting on the railing of the Brooklyn Bridge, his legs dangling off above the river. Ever since he had fully restored his ability to control his balance since last year's bike accident, he would come here to walk on the rails above the traffic towards the river side and watch the water and the ships below.

It was evening already and he was somewhat hidden in the twilight so as not to alert too many passers-by by his sitting there.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro had been in Manhattan for an orientation session, and to pick up the training uniforms for which he'd been measured the month prior. Afterward, he had been drawn into a political discussion about the election results with another of the recruits, a mutant several years younger than himself. "Discussion" was a generous term; rather, it had been the younger man complaining while Pietro stood with arms crossed over his chest and listened until he had his fill.

Evening came earlier with the end of Daylight Savings Time, and it was far darker when Pietro left the Academy than when he had arrived. Yet it was a weekday, and he had more time than usual, with Rossignol at University and Wanda absorbed in her own concerns. Deciding that it had been far too long since he had taken an exploration or sightseeing trip, he set out at his own pace through the Burroughs.

He found his way onto the Brooklyn Bridge, at first running with traffic, and then moving past the shoulder and halting. He had no conception of the time, though he knew it was early enough, and he had to make the decision to return or go further, and regardless of which he chose, the route.::

[Gambit]

As his cigarette was finished, so was the time for contemplation upon the night river. Gambit's waking hours did not coincide with daylight too often, and so now was just about time to get into the usual rhythm of life.

He stood up from the edge of the bridge side, sending the cigarette stub flying charged into the air towards the river before it went out in a tiny explosion. He turned to face the pedestrian part of the bridge, preparing to cross the beams above the traffic.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::The sound of a small explosion caught Pietro's attention, and he glanced first at the river. Seeing nothing: neither interest nor debris, he tried instead to find the origin. On guard, as always, his eyes took in the cars which passed by, and seeing nothing suspicious, looked up. In the darkness, it was difficult to see details, but he could make out the faint shadow of what he assumed was a man. Unconsciously, he stepped closer to the traffic, further from the bridge side, lest this develop dangerously.::

[Gambit]

At the times when the bridge was less crowded, Gambit would sometimes stop on the middle of the beam above the traffic to watch it for a while. It was an amusingly serene place, where he was certain to be alone, even in the ascending noise of the cars passing below.

Now, however, he didn't want to attract more attention than necessary, and people standing on the beams were usually believed to be suicidal, so he simply walked along the beam, looking like he walked there every day. He was dressed casually but as winter was approaching, his favorite trenchcoat had returned to his shoulders.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::From the shadows Pietro could see, the man was attempting to be casual; his outfit appeared loos-fitting to what small extent he could make out. The explosion could have been a mutant's doing, or the use of a weapon; at the moment, he remained unsure and continued to watch. He didn't mind attracting attention; drivers had better things to do than watch him watch the beams.::

[Gambit]

Something, a combination of his almost dormant empathy and a thief's flair, perhaps, told Gambit he was being watched. An uneasy feeling, almost like a breath along his spine. He ran his glance over the people walking along the bridge, some indeed looking at him, but none watching with enough attention to alert him. He stopped just before he reached the railing that divided the walkway from the space above the traffic, and looked around, then down at road.

He caught a glimpse of someone standing below, precariously near the traffic passing by. It was difficult to make out the details, but he could see white hair on the person's head. After another second, Gambit hopped down to the walkway, and turned to head back towards Mahnattan, glancing at the road every now and then as he walked.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::From the man's movements, and Pietro was certain he was a man at this point, he assumed another mutant; they were too...collected to be otherwise. He should let him go. On the other hand, that explosion was curious, and with his admission to the Police Academy, he had to begin thinking not only of threats to the school and his family, but to the area as a whole. It might be overreacting, but he was Pietro Maximoff and it was expected.

Coming to a decision, he adjusted the bag on his shoulder and took off after the man, though remaining on the pedestrian path. He needed only to get close, to confirm or for peace of mind disprove his own suspicious nature.:

[Gambit]

Gambit wondered if the tail would disappear when he came off the bridge and headed to where he had parked his motorcycle. At this point, he wasn't worried about showing that he had noticed the person following him. A person that could choose to follow him either knew Gambit too little or didn't know him at all (or didn't even know it was Gambit), which, in his turn, made him curious about the identity of that person. He made no attempt to vanish into the crowd like he was able to do; so far, there seemed to be no immediate need to do so.

He was almost on the street level now, and he still kept some of his attention on the traffic area to the side and behind of him.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro's impulsiveness could be the death of him. Since adolescence, he assumed it would be, and sessions with Samson who lectured on the dangers of his risky behavior did nothing to curb the urge, only to reaffirm his suspicion.

Rationally, if this man were a threat, and a possibly dangerous mutant, there was only so much Pietro could do: unarmed, in public surrounded by civilians still halfway into rush hour, and alone. Confident as he was in his speed, it only allowed for so much. Assuming the man wasn't a threat, being followed or confronted made a man paranoid and angry, not necessarily in that order. It could set off an otherwise reasonable individual and lead to a fight. Though Pietro could win a fistfight with little to no effort, an assault charge, even a misdemeanor rather than a felony, would lead to expulsion. Life had been simpler when he could focus on his family and hadn't a care in the world for clean records or job security; times changed.

Catching up to the man was no effort at all, and as he grew closer, still from the back, that sense of familiarity came upon him: he had seen this man before. All he needed was to place him, as he had met his fair share of villains, but also fairly decent men.::

[Gambit]

It was quieter at the foot of the bridge, where Gambit had left his bike. He was going to go get it first, but decided to change his plans slightly. For someone observing him it would seem like he was headed towards the parked vehicle, but he turned around much sooner than he reached it, expecting to face the person following him or at least to see if he was finally left alone.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Confronted not with the back of a head, but with a face, Pietro had his answer of where he knew this man from: it was Gambit. Gambit who owned the Hellfire. Gambit with his likely illegal connections that wouldn't be his concern for another month at least, and Gambit who had temporarily broken Scott and Jean up and dated Shade.

He stopped. Were he a man with a sense of humor, he might chuckle at the absurdity of it. The other man had probably wanted a place to be alone, just as he would climb buildings or stake out fields. It explained the explosion; as he had seen that first-hand, and had heard stories from Ororo.

Either it was a failed experiment at watching out on a "beat" that wasn't quite his, or his paranoia remained in full force. Either way, there was no need for any altercation. He greeted the man, as they were staring at one another.:: "Hello Gambit."

[Gambit]

Gambit did doubt for a moment that it had been someone else following him on the bridge rather than the person standing in front of him. However, as he remembered white hair standing out from the shadows under the promenade, he decided that it had, indeed, been one and the same man. He hadn't seen Pietro in quite a while, but remembered him well enough.

"Bon soir, Pietro," he replied, some tension leaving his stance, but not completely - after all, Pietro did follow him, for reasons yet unclear. "Stalkin' or just curious?"

[Pietro Maximoff]

"Curious," ::Pietro replied. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder, the one which held his training uniforms from earlier, and the manual with which he had been charged.:: "I saw an explosion and looked."

[Gambit]

"I can imagine nothing escapes your attention," Gambit remarked. He knew Pietro's powers and could surmise the reflexes that accompanied those. He took in Pietro's appearance, not missing anything. "What would you do if the explosion lead ya t' someone else, not me?"