I reached into the big pill bottle that acts like a jar. I pulled out a slip of paper that said this week's prompt is: delay Don't procrastinate! Let's see your response right away!

Here's a bit more of my little story: To her surprise, he did not run, or even hurry, away.  Instead, they walked at what could only be called a leisurely stroll from the townhouse.  However, they were not heading back the same way they had gone.  Red Impulse was taking her through different neighborhoods and Jun could see the moment they crossed the invisible line between the haves and have-nots. So much poverty just a street-width away from so much wealth, it never ceased to amaze her.  The same conditions existed in Utoland as well, but it never seemed quite as shockingly obvious as it was here.   They passed stores that had metal screens and gates pulled down in front of the doors and windows, but that did not stop people from spray painting graffiti on them. As they approached one corner, light from a 24-hour convenience store spilled out onto the sidewalk and just beyond, a group of young men hung out.  Several sat on the stairs or railings of the apartment building's front steps, a couple stood, leaning against the brick walls of the building itself and one young man sat on an overturned garbage can, his fingers beating out a nervous tattoo on the can's metal side. Red Impulse still had the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head, but Jun had not bothered.  Now, as these young men -- probably most of them only a few years older than she herself -- watched them walk towards them, Jun turned her face away from them and lowered her head, as though deeply engaged in conversation but neither of them saying anything at all. She was initially surprised when Red Impulse casually draped his arm over her shoulders and for about five seconds, Jun considered shrugging him off -- or telling him off, whichever came first.  But another look from the corner of her eye at the men who watched them made her reconsider.  It was too late and too much had happened in the last few hours and too much of that had been bizarre enough on its own without her tangling with a group of guys who would probably look at fighting with her as the most fun they had seen in weeks. Red Impulse guided Jun more towards the curb, towards him, as they approached the young men.  She watched them as they walked past, half hoping that none of them would do something stupid and half hoping one of them would. But the men merely watched them go by, not saying anything to them, or to each other.  Just as she and Red Impulse reached the far corner, she heard them pick up their conversation again, a rude comment, wheezing laughs.  The guy sitting on the garbage can must have gotten up because she could hear its tinny echo even from where they stood. A minute later, though, they were across the street and headed towards the nicer part of town.  Jun relaxed slightly when she recognized where she was and knew that their room was only a few blocks away.  Even though the danger had passed by now, Red Impulse kept his arm around her and she knew she should probably say something, but there was something in her that did not want to. It was nice, she decided, to be this close to someone.  To walk down the street and have everyone look at you as part of a couple and not as an individual.  Of course, she would have preferred a different man, but she reminded herself of beggars and choosers and decided to just enjoy the moment. Besides, she thought, he was blocking most of the cold night wind and being so close to him, this was the warmest she had been all evening.  As she had heard often enough in the orphanage, it was enjoyment of the little things that determined happiness or sadness and Jun was determined to be happy.  Even now.  Maybe especially now, if Nambu and the team ever found out what she was doing, where she was, and now, who she was with. She pushed the thought out of her mind and her thoughts circled back to review the last few hours. "Why did you leave the keys there?" she asked, remembering the question she started to ask him.  "What if we need to go back?" "Then we go back," he answered. "But how?  If you don't have the keys any more ...." "Think about," Red Impulse said.  "If he can't find his keys, then he's going to assume that he either lost them or someone stole them, in which case, he'll have every lock in that place changed, along with the pass codes, by this time tomorrow.  This way, he'll just think he dropped them as he passed through the foyer." "But how will we get in?  Or are you thinking we can just break in?" Red Impulse frowned down at her.  "What is your obsession with breaking into places?  No, we won't break in.  We'll just use this."  With his free hand, he pulled something out of his pocket and held out for her to see in the circle of light as they passed beneath a street light.  Jun squinted. "What is that?" "Right now, it's my eternal gratitude to Parnell for hiring an OCD housekeeper who likes to not only keep a bunch of spare keys, but one who has also thoughtfully labeled and stacked them in one of the kitchen drawers." "Won't they realize one of those keys is missing?" "Probably, but with any luck, we should be long gone and won't need it by then." He pocketed the key and removed his arm from her shoulders as they approached the door to their room.  Jun missed the weight and warmth of his arm and wished he hadn't moved it. Then she shook the thought from her head in horror.  It had to be because she was sleep-deprived, she reasoned.  It was just the tiredness talking. Once they were in the room, Red Impulse locked the door and pulled a rickety ladder backed wooden chair from the corner of the room and angled it directly between the door and the corner of the bed.  He sat down, propped his feet up on the corner of the low dresser, and without any further delay, turned on his cell phone.  In the blue light from the screen, he began to flip through his messages. Or so she assumed.  Jun yawned, wondering what to do next.  She sat down hard on the bed, its springs protesting in their rusty voices.  Before she knew quite how, she found herself lying down. 

RIgirl: Uh oh Jun, careful, you're falling under his evil sway!

I've got a feeling he's gonna seize the opportunity to slip away for a bit...

You just know RI has got something up his sleeve. I like where this is going RI Girl!

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Ouch, I didn't realize they'd actually done the mission. How awful. :/

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Poor Jinpei ... stuck in a position that a lot of us find ourselves in ... between knowing what you have to do and feeling what you really want to do! Question is -- how long can he hold out before he gives himself away?

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Originally posted by ElectricWhite I was bracing myself for something intense (as it sometimes get between the Eagle and the Condor)

LOL. I totally agree with you EW. You know no matter what they have each others backs ...

KT: Tsk, Joe's been picking up bad habits from Julia, practically blackmailing Ken. At least it's all out now. Hope they find some proof that Joe hasn't just been a huge idiot from moment #1!

Oh boy, maybe Ken can help him figure out what Julia's really up to...