All in a days work (open)

[rifkin]

The night reeked of cigarette smoke and stale vomit as Rif pushed open the back door of "the Irish Rover" and pounded his way up the back steps. Never had he seen Tony Luca so angry. Tony was mellow for a wiseguy, for whatever reason he believed in second chances. Rif thought him a dope for being so trusting, especially in a business like this, how Tony made profit with half his boys skipping payments was beyond Rif, but the guy got results, usually.
"I had it with this guy Rif! he's yours, deal with him how you want! he's crossed me one time too many." Tony had yelled pounding his drink on the table top, sending his rum and coke splashing in all directions.
"Hold your horses there Tony" Riff had said " let me explain something to ya, i prefer more permanent solutions to problems then most. If you want me to deal with him my way Tony, i will. that doesn't mean i can promise you your money."
"This isn't about the money anymore Rif! Make an example of him, make it messy, send a message."
So Rif had taken to the night, in his hand he clutched the napkin tony had scribbled down the address of the poor shmuck who was about to get one very unexpected visitor.
"I hope your having one hell of the night," Rif said to the empty street, as he tossed his cigar to the ground and stamped it underfoot. "It's going to be your last."

[xex]

Xexila sipped her martini and observed everything. She had a bit of a passion for watching the reactions of other people. Her eyes fell upon Rifkin and she found his behavior fascinating. A man slid into a stool beside her, well over his drinking limit. At this she simply rolled her eyes. She ensured that he would not need the next shot he was ordering. In a matter of seconds, he was on the ground. She smiled, paid the bartender, and stood to leave

She smoothed her silky gown before making her way for the exit, which she would need to pass Rifkin in order to do. However, another drunk got in her way before leaving was possible. This one wrapped his arms around her and insisted that she scurry back home with him. She growled at him to leave her alone, but he wasn’t taking a hint. This time, he knocked her over onto the ground, nearly sending her into a spilled drink. She got back onto her feet and her new ‘friend’ made a crack about getting her on her back.

Normally, she would just walk away, but he had taken it too far. She balled her pretty little hand into a fist, and before the drunk could say another word, her fist slammed into his nose, the force knocking him off his feet and onto the ground.

“Be careful who you try to hit on.” she snapped, recollecting her purse and applying lipgloss before she was ready to leave once again.

[rifkin]

The night was silent as Rifkin approached the adress on his cocktail napkin, especially for new york city. Though the streets we're empty, he couldn't help but feel like he was being followed. He thought he heard the shuffle of feet behind him, but saw nothing when he turned to investigate. "Must of had one too many drinks." Rif said, shaking off the paranoia.

He climbed the steps of the old apartment complex building and rattled the door knob, it was locked. He didn't bother to ring up, and instead kicked the door opened, which banged loundly as it slammed into the wall, leaving a hole in the plaster. An angry old lady popped her head out of her apartment, she looked ready to scream, then her eyes fell on Rif. He shot her a look that would stop the devil himself in his tracks, raising one finger to his lips he motioned for her to be silent, she clammed up, and slowly backed back into her apartment.

Rif made his way up the stairs, as he quietly approached the designated apartment, room 13. "Not a lucky number bub." Riff said quietly to himself. He didnt bother knocking, he threw the apartment door open. A man in a grease stained wife beater and boxer shorts lept up from his sofa. "Who the hell do you think you are!" the man yelled in surprise, reaching for a pair of pants to pull over his boxers, he clearly hadn't been expecting company, judging by the moaning and groaning coming from the television. The man grabbed the remote and quickly turned off his porno. Rif slowly closed the door behind him, the turned to the man, he took a puff from his cigar and blew it in the poor shmucks direction.

"You and i have a mutual friend." Rif said "Anthony Luca." Fear shot across the mans face, as Rif took another deep drag from his cigar.

"Oh, One of Tony's guys, yeah...i know! i know i'm short this week" he said, putting his hands in the air and backing up toward his bedroom door. "But i'll have it next week i swear! swear to god! Tony's an understanding guy! right? RIGHT?!" he yelled, panicking as Rif closed the distance between them.

"Not this time. Sorry pal, buisiness is buisness." Rif took one last draft of his cigar before throwing it aside. Then, grabbing the man the the front of his shirt, he slammed him against the wall, the man struggled, but Rif pressed a hand against the mans chest, and his whole body seized. Rif sent waves of pain coursing through the mans body, but the man didn't scream. His entire sensory system overloaded, he couldn't if he wanted to. Suddenly dark lines of read apeared under rifs hand, investigators would later find the words "all debts repayed" Gouged into the mans chest. Riff leaned in close and whispered "No hard feelings." suddenly, the mans heart burst as he collapsed to the ground, and blood began to pool around his fallen form. Rif turned and left the room, closing the apartment door behind him.

[xex]

“Come on baby! Just until we get to the hotel! Your radiator is coming in tomorrow! Don’t do this to me, please!”

Dispite her pleas, her jeep’s radiator decided that now was a good time to die. She growled at it, tempted to change her form and dash away from there and take care of her car in the morning, but she knew all too well that she could not do that. Luckily, she was stronger than people gave her credit for and she was able to push the jeep to the nearest street light and open the hood, releasing steam.

She changed her shoes to her greasy cowgirl boots she always kept in the back in case of emergency. Xexila may have been a car girl, but that did not mean that she did not like her shoes. She was not worried about her dress. She was not dealing with oil so she had no reason to be.

An opening door caught her attention, but she paid it no mind and proceeded to examine the gap. It was still fixable, at least to get to her hotel. She crawled into the back and pulled a bottle of tire sealant and sand. She had a feeling it would come in handy. She would just have to not drive in the morning.

“And can we get a round of applause for the automobile McGyver!” she cheered to herself giddily, unaware that she wasn’t alone.

[rifkin]

Rif did a quick spot check in the bathroom mirror before leaving the apartment complex. He washed his hands clean of blood, and after deciding he was confident that nothing had gotten on his shirt, he turned and left the room.
Another day, another dollar Riff sighed to himself as he left the old run down building. The events of the evening hadn't drained him all that much, and he was even thinking of heading back to The Irish Rover for another drink when the loud thunk of car door slamming caused him to spin round on the spot. At the opposite end of the street he spotted a woman, dressed in a silky dress and old beat up cowboy boots, struggling to get an old run down jeep back onto it metaphorical feet.
He knew he should have just turned around and walked away, he had already gotten his hands dirty once this evening, he didn't really want to do it again. He started to walk away, but couldn't help but turn back, for whatever reason, Rif found the cocktail dress cowboy boot combo too attractive to resist. Damn me and my downstairs brain Rif thought turning round again.
"Excuse me! Miss? Need a hand?"

[xex]

Xexilia heard Rifkin’s voice and her eyes left the fissure in her radiator and fell upon the man who was calling to her. At first, she was ready to tell him that she was fine and everything was almost ready. She bit her lip and grinned slightly.

“If you’re willing to help, I most certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it. I have a crack in my radiator. I have a new one coming in tomorrow, but it wasn’t supposed to be cracked this bad yet. It’s really bizarre to me.” Her tone was a bit annoyed now. “I basically give birth to this car and it decides to strand me.”

She stood on the bumper and found the crack, carefully running her finger along its edges, finding that it stretched the full length of the tank. She jumped back down and picked up the tin can she had her concoction in before adding more sealant and sand. She had underestimated the size of the crack.

“I’m Xexilia by the way.”

[rifkin]

"The names Rif" He said, holding out his hand. She took it and shook, and for the first time he got a good look at her face. Not bad at all... Rif thought to himself. "Well lets take a look, see what we can do."
It didn't take Rif long to figure out he was in way over his head. After throwing out of few random "technical terms" out like "well the grease fluid of the radiator gasket" and "axle keg" Rif finally admitted defeat.
"Listen....i gotta admit, i'm no hot shot when it comes to cars..." he said scratching the back of his head. "but i'm a born and raised new yorker, if there's one thing i am good at, it's hailing a cab." He said gesturing in the direction of a more populated road. "Whadaya say i call you a tow truck, and we'll hitch a ride outta here together. Cab fairs on me."

[xex]

As he spoke, Xexilia bit her lip to keep back a smirk, for he was completely wrong. When he finally admitted that he wasn't exactly well informed about cars, she finally laughed and put the tin can with the sealant and sand in it.

"Were I any other girl, you would have had me convinced that you knew what you were talking about. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I've been fixing cars since I was eight. All I need to do is bind the crack together. It should last until tomorrow, which is when I'm going to be installing my new radiator. Would you mind holding this and being sure it doesn't solidify?"

She pulled a flashlight out of her tool box and secured it between her teeth before climbing up onto the bumper again, finally getting a decent look at the damage, unintentionally flaunting what her mother gave her. She reached across the distance between them and dipped a rusty pocket knife into the tin she gave him. She would have smiled at him, but the flashlight was in her mouth.

[rifkin]

Rif couldn't but help but be impressed as X..a...Xeli...Xexilia, that was it thrust the can of sealant into his hands. It was obvious this girl could teach him a thing or two. He was plenty content to sit back and watch this girl work, so content that he failed to catch himself staring before it was too late. She turned on him and he quickly busied himself by giving the can of sealant an over exaggerated shake or two in an attempt to keep it from solidifying
"So your dad taught you cars huh? Is that how your make your living? I think i'd much rather have you doing my regular maintenance then ny current mechanic, you probably make coveralls look way better then he does...." Rif let out a nervous chuckle as he mentally punched himself in the face for making such a lousy and obvious come on. This girl probably had tons of losers gunning for her already, that last thing she needed was another.

[xex]

She smirked when she caught him staring at her. She began to gently fill in the crack waiting for it to solidity before adding some more onto it. She eventually hung the flashlight over her head and proceeded to work, answering Rif’s questions once her mouth was empty.

“It’s about the only good thing he did for me, yes. He has his own autoshop in Hollywood. I haven’t seen or heard from him in about seven years.” She stopped herself and reached for some more sealant. “Sorry. You could probably care less about my history.”

Xexilia finished patching up the crack as he either offered her a job or hit on her. She didn’t really know or care which it was. She finally jumped off the bumper and slammed the hood shut. “That’s a nice offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Depending on what I'll get in return.” She slowly slid the tin out of his hand and into hers, a playful smirk in her eyes. She didn't normally mean to be flirty, but thie wasn't one of those times.

[rifkin]

Rif caught the look in her eye, as she took the can from him. Sure she was toying with him, but hey, these things escalate. "I've gotten good at making people offers they can't refuse." He said, Unable to resist the all too obvious Godfather pun. "How about this, you give me a little auto shop lesson sometime soon, and i'll treat you too a night on the town. you want it, name it. I know lots of guys who know guys who own the hottest spots and town. I can guarantee we'll have a good time!" trying his best to put on a charming smile, which he was surprised to find was fairly difficult. His face it seemed was born to scowl, not rope in random girls on the street.

[xex]

She laughed aloud at this. “Is anything gunna fall off a truck?”

With his attempt at a charming smile, she smirked.

“I’m not the best teacher, but if you can find a piece of crap that you are completely in love with I may be able to help you out. I rebuild cars too. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I’m sure you could do that on your own.”

She turned from him and pulled an AutoZone receipt out of her purse, scribbled her name and number on the back of it, folded it in half, and handed it to him. “Call me if you need a decent mechanic. It‘s actually not a fake number either. You should feel very special. Few guys get my actual number. If you’re serious about the night on the town, you can call me for that too. I’m always up for fun.”

Most people would never believe that she made the majority of her money by making bets on herself at a bar of who could drink the most. It sounded bizarre, but she always brought home bacon. At least she would have if she liked bacon.

[rifkin]

Riff smiled as he tucked Xexilia's number into his back pocket. "I never joke about having a good time." He said, "You better believe you'll be hearing from me soon." Rif stayed cool and collected, even though inside he was doing a celebratory dance.
Suddenly a gunshot broke the relative silence of the New York night, not unheard of so neither of the two panicked, that is until a second shot ricocheted off the lamp post behind them.
"Down now!" Rif yelled, pulling Xexilia to cover behind her jeep and wrenching his own gun out of it's holster. He fired off two shots down the alley way before ducking back down behind the jeep. He shot a quick glance Xexilia's way, checking to see if she was alright, there was a look of horror on her face, whether it was because of the shooters themselves, or because of the damage being done to her car, Rif couldn't tell. Maybe Both.
Another gun shot whizzed their way, followed by a loud "thump, pop!" as it took out one of Xexilia's tires.
Well, looks like i'm never going to hear from this girl again Riff thought, cracking off another shot.
Suddenly Xexilia let out a yell beside him, he turned to see her clutching her shoulder as it oozed blood.
Shit! Rif thought, Not good timing. He let loose another bullet and heard a loud yell of pain as it the bullet hit its mark, but as one man went down, another two took his place. He reached for Xexlia and pulled her closer to him. Concentrating on the wound he willed her flesh to knit back together, her eyes opened wide as a rush of warmth filled her. Rif released when he was through and went back to shooting as she stared at him with a look of terror, or complete awe, Rif couldn't tell. Yeah, i'm definitely not seeing this girl again he thought to himself.

[xex]

((God modeling Rif. Ya can’t do it. I‘ll go with your story a bit, but I‘m altering what happened to Xexilia a bit.))

Xexilia was no stranger to gunshots. In fact, it was quite simple for her to change form, sneak up on the assailant, and then take them out without using a weapon. People often underestimated her because of her size, but she was used to it. It merely gave her an advantage.

She glanced under her car, which was now ruined, and clearly saw the shooters, but she paid for it with a bullet in her shoulder. Granted, she did yelp, but the blood didn’t bug her too much. Fortunately, she had grown accustom to pain and it didn’t bother her. When Rif pulled her close, she didn’t notice what he was doing, but rolled under her car, reached under her gas tank and found the gun of her own, which she kept, just in case of emergency.

Suddenly, her eyes changed from their gray-blue to a bright golden hazel, brightening her target into better view. She could care less why they were shooting, but no body messed with her cars and lived to see another day. Rif had already taken out one of the shooters, but he ignored the more subtle one who was lurking behind a garbage can. She locked onto her target and let the bullet fly. The led flew from the barrel and zoomed cleanly through his forehead.

Xexilia stood and examined her car, furious at the bullet holes through it, her flat tires, and the ruined upholstery.

“Oh if those douche bags were still alive they would be praying for death right now.” she shifted her shoulder and realized that it was unwounded and was confused until she realized.

“No way.” she whispered to herself. “You’re a mutant too?” she suddenly asked, realizing how stupid she would have sounded confessing herself a mutant if he really was not.

[rifkin]

((Sorry! My bad! i'm still fairly new to this, i don't know whats ok and whats not haha))

Rif couldn't help but be impressed. this girl can definitely handle herself! Rif thought, as Xexlia unleashed bullet herself, taking out the remaining shooter right before Rif was about to squeeze a shot off of his own.
After the firing stopped they both stood, Rif was a little too distracted surveying the scene to catch all of what Xexilia had to say, but he did catch. "Wait, your a mutant too?"
"uh yeah i...wait..too??" Rif examined her with wide eyed wondered. He had never met another mutant before. Somewhere in the distance Rif heard yelling and the shuffling of feet on the run. "It's not safe here, we gotta go." Riff ran up to the jeep and kicked the lisence plates off the front and back end, he grabbed them and tucked them into the back of his pants. The he quickly ran to the bodies of dead shooters. One at a time, he place his hand on their heads, and reached out into their bodies with his powers. Concentrating on the very essence of their forms, he began pulling them apart, piece by piece, and soon, the two shriveled to dust. Xexilia stared at him.
"What?" Rif said, "Just cleaning up, now, we gotta run!" within out asking permission, Rif grabbed her by the arm and ran.