Indelicato comes sauntering in, eating a burger clearly from another fast
food chain. He stuffs the remnants of it down a trash can and looks at the
hideous plastic-and-plywood taco-shaped clock above the registers briefly. 

New York: Taco Whiz

        Upon entry to Taco Whiz, you are greeted by a sight familiar from
every other Taco Whiz in this nation, garish decorating, and large, bold
signs proclaiming the wares available here for your repast. Taco salads,
tacos, tostadas, nachos, and of course, the special: a Burrito-Rama
w/Cheese only $0.45. There are large planters containing fake plants
demarkating the room into four sections, each containing table with
attached swivelling chairs. At any time of day or night, this place seems
full of hum anity, many of whom are unable to afford food elsewhere. The
homeless, students, and poor working families are frequent sights in its
many booths. From behind the counter is a short row of three smiling
faces, while behind them, more employess work steadily, producing tacos
at a mind-numbing rate to feed the crowds. 

Places Here:
Table  Table  Table  Table  Counter

Contents:
Diana
Obvious exits:
Out <O>

Indelicato(#1385Pfces)

        Ed Indelicato is a man in his mid-to-late thirties, with dark hair
that is seemingly permanently uncombed. He has a thick mustache that arcs
downward on his face, and a loose-fitting suit of navy blue. A very slight
paunch pushes his rumpled shirt out over his belt. On the lapel of his
coat is clipped a NYPD identification badge showing that he is an
Inspector. 

Indelicato looked at you.

        Even in the decidedly drab attire of a fast food employee, Diana's
face combines a mixture of Amazon Princess and the girl next door. Her
thick mane of jet black curls is pulled back away from her face into a
loosely bundled ponytail, letting her perch the pastel blue-green cap with
golden 'TW' logo atop her head with little difficulty. Her blue eyes are
as wide as her smile as she welcomes you, the only dead giveaway to her
identity being the red, star-shaped earrings she wears in each ear. 

        She wears a white polo shirt with horizontal stripes, and a turned
up collar, of the same green shade as her cap, the same 'TW' logo
monogramed over her breast. Directly beneath the monogram is a small name
badge that reads Taco Whiz, with the nam e 'Diana' applied with a name
label. The shirt is short-sleeved, exposing her well-tanned arms, and fits
a bit snugly, obviously not intended for a women quite so mature. At her
waist, the shirt is tucked into a pair of fairly poorly tailored white
slacks, a bit tight at the bottom and a bit baggy as they end down the
long stretch of her legs, with a neat, sharp pleat running their length to
end at a pair of matching green sneakers on her feet. 

Finishing a final pass with her mop over the restaurant's brown and red
tile floor, the entire restaurant dark but for an overhead light back in
the food preperation area, Diana leans the mop in the bucket against the
counter. She reaches up and adjusts her hat, looking over the floor with a
bit of a smile at a job completed before she turns to wheel the bucket
away. As you enter, she turns quickly, "I'm sorry sir, we're...oh. Hello
Edward." Her smile widens as she opens a side closet near the restrooms,
"It is good to see you. Allow me to put this away."

You say "Sure, Pri...uh, Diana. Long day, eh?"

Indelicato leans against the antiseptic-clean metal counter.

Diana shuts the door with a dull click, and then strides perfectly back to
where you stand before the counter. She reaches up to adjust the hat again
almost compulsively before seeming to relax on her feet. "It has been a
long shift, yes. But it has also been some time since I have seen you. I
hope that all has been well with you?" She looks you over as
second-nature, attempting to gauge an answer from your appearance. 

Indelicato looks down at his feet and gives a half-knowing smile. "Well,
there's been a lot going on. Robots. The Cheetah escaped again, you know
that, right? Then there was that mess over in Metropolis with the circus,
the Bureau was leaning hard since apparently Braniac decided to get his
permits here. Tax reasons, probably. And the...suicide case..." he says it
delicately. "It's slow going trying to keep it from the press." 

Her visage growing a bit more serious, Diana nods quickly, "I have
suspicions regarding Cheetah's so-called escape. If she had wished to
escape from me, she had ample opportunity to do so before she surrendered
and came with me in the first place. I cannot explain her sudden change of
mind on the matter, and this causes me to suspect another agent. Perhaps
Circe, who freed her during her previous incarceration, I am not sure."
She pauses for a long moment, looking you in the eye even as you look to
the floor, "Has there been anything further...in that case. I have been
concerned, but I was not sure how I could help...even if I could help. I
hope that no further deaths have occured?" 

Indelicato shakes his head. "Not yet. But I been doing some
thinking...er...want to walk?" he says. "These flourescent lights are
givin' me the mother of all headaches." 

Diana nods quickly, and produces the rather large bundle of keys for the
restaurant from her pocket. "Certainly. I could use the fresh air as well,
and I was about to lock the doors and return home myself." She steps
quickly to the door, pulling it open for you, and allowing you to step
outside first. 

You step out of the restaurant.
New York: Rockefeller Center

 The area around Rockefeller Center is always interesting. The Center itself is
 a model of urban planning and design, housing 24 acres of underground shops
 and restaurants. Nearby one can visit NBC Studios, and perhaps view a
 television show live. The home of the fabulous Rockettes, Radio City Music
 Hall, sports a 1932 art deco look; a contrast to it's modern surroundings.
 Navigating through the traffic is tiresome during rush hour. Most residents
 find that they can usually walk faster than they can drive during that time.

Obvious exits:

Taco Whiz <TW> Central Park <N> Grand Central Station <E> Hudson River <W>
Bryant Park <S>

Diana steps out of the Taco Whiz.
Diana has arrived.

Indelicato shoves his hands in the pockets of his coat. It's freezing cold
outside and his words seem to congeal into the air. "We haven't ID-ed the
two shooting victims yet. The fingerprints were damaged on both. One of
the Juvie officers said one of them was another runaway, he'd seen her
hanging around downtown before." 

Diana twists the key and gives the doors a slight tug to ensure that they
are locked before returning the keys to her pocket, and turning to face
out toward the street alongside you. She pauses for another moment before
speaking, "There are so many women and children living on the streets." 
She looks to you, apparently unaware of the cold surrounding you both,
"Feeding them is one of the reasons that I took this job, here. I do not
understand how so many here can have so very much, and how others can have
so little, and one can feel unmoved to help the other."

Indelicato looks out at the streets, still roaring along with lights and
cars. "Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but you get used to it. Maybe
that ain't such a good thing. Maybe that's the reason this city never
sleeps. Scared of what it'll dream about." He shakes his head a little and
starts walking. "We think there may have been a similar tattoo on these
two, but it was near the wounds, so it will be hard to reconstruct. It's
almost a good thing the gun's numbers were filed off, it means we can get
Federal people to help." He pauses. "I keep wondering if it's gonna happen
again." he says, almost too low to be heard.  

Striding alongside you as the busy city rushes past, Diana is quiet while
you speak, crossing her arms beneath her chest in a graceful gesture that
seems unrelated to the cold, and more one of mannerism. Her keen hearing,
of course, catches your words, "I wonder as well." She pauses only briefly
before continuing, "A tattoo, that is rather odd. You do not think that."
She shakes her head slightly, and then continues as if forcing herself,
"Four years ago, there was the religious cult which grew up surrounding my
person. That was a dreadful time, but the members were capable of these
sort of acts. I hope that there is no evidence that would lead you to
believe this to be a recurrence of the other? I thought that that had been
ended." She looks now to you for answers, and not to the street for
distraction. 

Indelicato nods. "Yeah, that got busted up pretty good, but it doesn't
mean that the -ideas- are gone. You know, a copycat or something. Maybe
these girls heard about it and thought it looked...cool." he mutters. 
"See, I'm running on two explanations. One is that it's some kind of
suicide pact. And the other is..." He shrugs frustratedly. "That is isn't.
There's a big stack of stuff that says it is: similar backgrounds to the
victims. It's possible that they knew each other, it's almost sure that
they knew each other if the tattoo turns out to be the same. Homeless or
underhoused. Clearly neglected. All reasons to be suicidal. But...they
weren't using drugs. They found a gun, a relatively unused gun, by the
way. They left no note. And nobody has come forward to say 'yes, they told
me they were going to do it.' Pacts usually are sending a message, at
least that's what the shrinks say, and they always leave notes. Could be
e-mail, could be a phone message or a call. But we've got nothing like
that. But if it's not that, what is it?"

Keeping pace with you, Diana continues to look you in the eye until you
finish speaking, and then, finally, she returns her gaze to the blur of
lights on the streets of New York. She is clearly thinking as her brow
furrows, and her lower lip pushes upward slightly. After a long moment she
answers, "I do not know. It is said that I have Athena's Wisdom, yet these
acts are so utterly meaningless. So purposeless. I cannot find message or
meaning in them." She shakes her head, her thick ponytail of hair sweeping
across her back, "Perhaps if I knew them I would understand, yet I still
believe that if I knew them and understood, this would never have
transpired." Her eyes fall on you again, "For all of my wisdom, I often
simply cannot comprehend the actions of humanity."

Indelicato shrugs. "Hey, join the club." he says with a wry half-smile. 
"We don't know what we're doing half the time neither. Lucky for us the
goal is the same if it's suicide or...or not: find out what's going to
happen next and pray the answer is 'nothing'." He shakes his head. "I
prolly ought to come round sometime with -good- news, huh?" 

A small, lilting chuckle escapes Diana's lips at that, and she looks to
you with a smile, followed by a very gentle jostling nudge as you walk. 
"Yes, I think that you should. You are too good a friend to me to have our
relationship confined to tragedy." She waits a few more paces before
adding, "You certainly know that you are welcome to call me at any time,
or come to visit." 

Indelicato grins (slightly ruefully? hm.) "Thanks. I'll be sure to do that
sometime when the world isn't crashing down around us. So, uh, how's
-your- work?" 

Diana quickly responds, "All has gone well. I have been promoted to
Assistant Manager, which is certainly an honor. It is one of few such
honors that I feel I have truly earned, rather than having it thrust upon
me by others." She looks to you with a smile, one eyebrow cocking
slightly, "Or were you referring to the Justice League?" 

Indelicato chuckles slightly. "Congratulations. A few more years and
you'll almost be making as much as me, which ain't much." He winks. "Oh,
yeah? The League? I heard some suit talking about it on the teevee the
other night. Uh, on CNN." 

Nodding again, Diana thinks for a moment before stating honestly, "The
League is very interesting. I helped to organize its current incarnation,
and to lead it. Yet I fear that the League has a life of its own. I worry
often that it may be beyond my capacity to manage." She shakes off the
moment of introspection, or seems to, "But all in all, we have succeeded
in all our recent missions. Unfortunately, we have also lost a comrade in
the League's first Green Lantern. I did not know him well, but he was, by
all accounts a great man." She looks to you at the last, "Many with whom I
speak are somewhat intimidated by the League. I am pleased that you
realize that we are only people, no different from anyone else. It is one
of the reasons that I feel comfortable with you, Edward. You treat me like
a human being, and not some kind of goddess." 

Indelicato scratches his head in the way he does when he's embarassed. 
"Well, hey." he says modestly. "Yeah, I heard about the Green Lantern guy. 
Sorry to see him go. It's funny, cops bitch and moan about all the guys
with the powers lousing everything up, but I'll bet ninety percent of them
think different in their heart of hearts." 

With a slow smile Diana nods, "I am glad to hear that. I know that all of
us in the League, at the least, have nothing but the utmost respect for
all members of law enforcement. We do what we do with the protection of
great powers and abilities, yet you accomplish the same, taking far
greater risks." She glances to you yet again, "It is one of the reasons
that I have spurned the name 'hero'. I think that brave men and women like
yourself are the true 'superheroes'." As she looks to you and says that,
she sees you replace your hat after the head scratch, and reads the
gesture, quickly looking straight ahead and adding, "I am sorry to
embarass you." 

Indelicato shrugs. "Well, hey." he repeats, brazening his way through it.
"I have to practice for when the mayor gives me the key to the city,
right?" he joshes. "Well, here we are." he says, stopping outside Diana's
apartment. "I'll, uh, see you around." 

Diana stops short, looking to Ms. Spry's Boarding House. A smile crosses
her face as she says, "I was unaware that we had already come this far."
She looks to you a last time, reaching out a hand to touch your shoulder,
"Thank you for walking me home, Edward. I appreciate your company."

Indelicato nods and looks at his shoes for a minute, then back up at
Diana's eyes. He pauses (too long? hm.) "Hey, no big deal. I...uh...my
pleasure. Well, see ya." he repeats, then turns quickly (too quickly? hm.)
and hails a cab.