[Eli Black]

Applebees? Well, they sure had a sense of humour. Whoever 'they' were...it didn't really matter in the end. Flippin' the bills was their job, Eli just had to point and shoot. That's how the story went...not so simple for the most part, but at the end of the day blood was always spilled and money was always transferred. The jobs had escalated in difficulty. Usually he was picking off wealthy estate owners in foreign countries...now it seemed like they were always some top secret military personnel.

"How many seats?" the host asked, snapping Eli out of his thoughts.
"...One," he said, looking the attractive woman over once, "maybe two if you're on your break, darlin'.."
"I'm clearly not," she replied curtly, motioning him to follow her to a table.
"Alright, well, if you change your mind you know what table I'm gonna be at," Eli mentioned, sitting down at the offered chair in the far corner of the restaurant.

Time passed before the waitress came. He didn't bother looking at the menu as he waited, considering he already knew what he was ordering. It was kinda like a code. His appearance and his unique order were going to send them a message, then he was going to get his package. Black didn't know how the applebees staff knew to hand him a message after asking for a special order, and he didn't really care to know. As long as he got results, who cared?

The waitress walked over and introduced herself, asking what he'd like.
"Well, sugar, I'd love a rum n' coke double. Also, if you can cook me up a steak sandwich, two sides of fries and three toothpicks."
She looked at him like he was crazy but wrote the order down anyways. Eli gave her a big smile and watched her as she left. Before long the drink came. The southerner tossed the little straw and downed the glass, ordering two more as he waited.

Finally the food came, accompanied by the requested toothpicks and something else. A piece of paper.
"Guess this is for you," was all the waitress said, tryin' to hide her curiosity.
"Much obliged," Eli said, taking a bite out of the sandwich before checking the paper.

It read:
Nathaniel David Knight

[Eli Black]

"Huh..." Eli huffed, allowing a slow smile to curve on his lips. No need to do any extra homework for this one. Just happened that Eli knew exactly who Nathaniel Knight was, unlike most of the foreign targets. Higher up from Umbrella...one of the executives or something. Black didn't exactly know why his organization wanted to take out Umbrella, when the corporation was praised by the general public. Then again, on his travels he knew the giant wasn't exactly clean. But then what corporation was? Obviously they were stepping on the wrong heads now though, since the assassin had buried three identifiable Umbrella associates already. The rest were whatever. It was a dangerous game to play, and Eli was in for the long run.

The southerner finished his meal and ordered another drink, leaning back in his chair. His jacket moved with him, showing his gun strap across his chest. Luckily he noticed before anyone else did, and silently noted that this would be his last drink at the restaurant. Considering himself the drunken master of gunslingers, even Eli knew when to call it quits and keep his wits about him...anymore slips and the police could be shoving him in a jail and trying to figure out exactly who the fuck he was. That wouldn't be nice. Then again, better than being tortured in South America. That was even less friendly.

As the drink was placed between his hands, Elijah slowly turned it in his hands. He glanced up from the drink and looked at the people around him. People with friends and family, with lovers and enemies. Laughing, remembering, discussing. It was all bullshit. Eli laughed often, but he was the only one usually. These people had no idea what kind of world was just beneath their feet. And they would never know. He wasn't envious, but he wasn't condemning either. The black cat had a lot of lives and a lot of luck, even so he had his scars. They made him feel alive. He would never take enjoyment, sitting around a table with family and discussing daily life with other people, or listening in on someone's story about how they got a promotion or got engaged. It was all so damn boring. Everyones life was just too damn boring. That kind of life was never meant for him. Every day would be either heaven or hell, but no mediocrity between. Paradise or death. And as Eli took a swig from his glass and felt the warmth spread through his body, he accepted that for the moment he was in paradise.

[jacqueline skye benz]

Chicken Alfredo was Jackie’s favorite dish…like in the entire world. Well, maybe not her complete favorite but she could eat it for days without getting tired of it. She had the sudden craving for it and decided to go to Applebee’s to order some. But she had no intention of dining by herself. This is why she was ordering her food to go.

Jackie was one of those people that didn’t really like to do things alone. She didn’t go to movies by herself or dine out alone. She should be able to so everything alone considering all the time she spent in Hell all by her lonesome. She had more than enough time to get to know herself a whole lot better. Whether she wanted to or not.

But the carry-out line was painfully slow right now. Jackie was becoming more and more anxious as she stood in the line. Her left foot began to tap against the floor as she become impatient. Her eyes began to scan the restaurant and she saw a guy drinking alone. Although that wasn’t anything new to see people just hanging out all alone…but Jacqueline never understood why people did that. A thought popped in her head and she just acted on it without a second thought. She walked out of line and walked towards his table. On her way she took a french fry off of a random’s person’s plate. She gave them a innocent smile and just kept going. Jackie helped herself to a seat at the guy’s table. “It should be a crime for people to drinking alone.” She commented taking a bite out of her stolen fry. “Especially for a man as handsome as you.” She added with a grin showing off her dimples.

[Eli Black]

He glanced up at her as she came towards him, a small sideways smirk on his face as their eyes met. Well, if it wasn't just the hottest little thing in Seattle grabbin' a seat at his table. Eli could appreciate a woman's company, especially one that moved and talked like she did. She was his kinda woman.

"It should be a crime for people to drink alone," she said, making him tilt his head to the side slightly.
"Aw, well, if you're gonna cuff me...I aint got no complaints. What you drinkin', darlin'?" he asked, gray eyes traveling over her body before resting back on her own. Definitely not what Eli was expecting when he stopped for work. Unexpected, yes. Unwanted, no. After all, Eli was a firm believer in working hard and playing hard at the same time. He stared at her a little longer before smirking more and glancing down at his drink in thought.

"So what brings you to my lonely corner?" he asked, tucking the paper in a pocket. "If you're lookin' for another french fry to steal you're outta luck. Ate all mine."

[jacqueline skye benz]

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t know you well enough to put you in cuffs just yet.” She smirked in response. Oddly enough Jackie did own a pair of cuffs decades ago and they mysteriously disappeared before she got the chance to even try the things out. “I’m not drinking anything…unless you’re buying.” Jacqueline replied tilting her head slightly. Jackie wasn’t much of a drinker, sure she liked a good drink from time to time but Jacqueline never needed a drink to have a good time. But the woman could never pass up anything that was free or came without strings attached.

“I came over because you were by yourself. And I couldn’t let you sit over here alone. Not when I could be keeping you company.” Jacqueline smiled slightly. She felt so sorry for people sometimes; seeing them sitting down alone…it didn’t matter if they were texting on their phone or reading emails on the internet. It was something about seeing someone sitting in a seat with no one around them that just stirred the wrong feeling in Jackie. Maybe it was because she grew up as an only child…but she adored being an only child.

“Where are you from? I can hear the accent roll off your tongue. You must not be from around here.” She said knowingly. That was what gave it away. Normally Jackie wouldn’t have been able to tell if he was from Seattle or not but the way he spoke told her that he was a southern man. She just shrugged her shoulders. If there were any fries left on his plate she would have helped herself to them by now.

[Eli Black]

"Well, looks like I'm buyin'," he said, waving over a waitress.
"Another one of these. For my guest," he told her, tapping the glass. The waitress left and Eli returned his attention to the woman.
"Oh I see how it is...you're givin' me pity company," Black said with a chuckle, running his tongue along the inside of cheek slightly. "Now I'd be insulted if it came from a girl that wasn't so...easy on the eyes."

The waitress stopped by just then and handed her another double rum and coke.
"That's right, I'm no local. Raised in Tennessee, so a lil outta my element here. Just stopped by for business," he told her, stopping himself from getting into details by changing the subject, "Can't say I've ever been to Seattle before. The name's Eli by the way. What about you? Gotta name?" Eli asked playfully, leaning closer into the table. She was definitely a ten. Hell, she was a ten and then some. Bold girl. It was something he always liked in a woman. There was something different about her though, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it as he glanced into her eyes.

"You came alone too, I'm assumin', so maybe I'm the one thats keepin' you company...not that I'd have it any other way. Lonely girls like you are...well...hard to come by," he ended, downing his drink and placing it on the edge of the table.
"You hungry, sweetheart?"

[jacqueline skye benz]

Jackie gave a nod of approval once the man said he was going to buy her a drink. Her say was turning out to better than when it had started. Another smirk graced Jackie’s lips. “I wouldn’t exactly call it pity.” Jacqueline did sit with him because she didn’t like seeing people alone but she sure as hell wouldn’t have bothered to come over here if she didn’t think it would be worth her time. If it was someone like that Efron kid sitting at this table Jackie wouldn’t have given him a second glance. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She replied as the waitress dropped off her drink.

“All the way from Tennessee to Washington. Well Seattle seems just like every other city to me.” Jackie said without emotion as she took a sip of her drink. “Thanks.” She grinned. It seemed like she had to taste the drink first before she could actually thank him for it. After she took another, longer sip from the glass she offered her name. “Jacqueline. But some people call me Jackie.” She responded before taking another drink.

“It’s a pleasure.” She said finally sitting the glass down on the table. Jackie enjoyed new people. When he leaned forward Jacqueline didn’t move back. She was far too old to be shy. Thinking about her age made her wonder how old this Eli guy was. Looking at the man he could pass for around thirty years old. He looked like he could be older than her,half the people in this world looked older than Jackie even though she had them beat by a hundred or so.

“I have friends that could entertain me.” She replied. Although all of her friends seemed to be vampires. Blair would probably laugh if Jackie suggested they go eat at a restaurant. Especially since Blair was only interested in blood. “Hard to come by? For a guy like you?” Jackie asked clearly skeptical. “You still buying?” Jacqueline grinned.