The restaurant was what Nathan Maddox expected from his
beautiful guest. He gave her the choice and she chose well; Alpines was
an up-scale steakhouse. In the center of the dining room was a booming
fireplace surrounded by a clear heat shield. Radiating from the European
stone-work fireplace were the dining tables, mostly for two to four people with
the larger party seating near or against the wall. The menu did not have a
single digit priced item (aside from the drinks) and everything was in whole
dollar amounts. Nathan was lucky to overhear a conversation where the
unfortunate customer inquired about a selection of steak sauces, only to be
embarrassed in front of his date by the server: Alpines’ steaks were so good
that no sauces were available to ruin the quality of the meat. Nathan silently
thanked the guy to take the bullet for him.
He glanced around and caught a few other men eying his date. Again, it was what he expected and Nathan felt a sense of pride. How could he be jealous of other men, he would have done the same! Of all the men in the world she could be with tonight, the Scarlet Scorpion allowed him at least one night. But that is making her more than she is.
Drinks were ordered and Scarlet kept it on the light side. Even if she were not in uniform she was still “on” as a hero. It was an unfortunate side effect of taking on the hero mantle and she had been doing it long enough to make it a part of her life now. After the order she settled into the moment, the small talk was basically over and she was waiting for Nathan to dig deeper, if he dared.
“So, Scarlet Scorpion, let’s cut to the chase …” Nathan swirled his dark liquor and looked inside the cup to pull a question from the thick liquid, then finding one. “What’s your real name?”
Oh, he’s blunt. Score one point.
“Tsk tsk Mr. Maddox, that’s for me to keep for myself.”
Nathan smiled. “I expected you to say that. I hope you don’t mind me trying?”
Scarlet smiled back, “Not at all. I’m a little impressed you made the attempt so early this evening.”
“So, why keep it a secret? As you know, some heroes have chosen to make their real identity open. As all heroes are registered, why keep it hidden from the public? You don’t wear a mask, haven’t you been recognized somewhere at some time?” He used his fingers to deftly mimic the scars on his face.
Scarlet broke a piece of bread as he spoke. By the time he finished she had swallowed the piece and quietly thought about the answer, ignoring the motion he made with his hand. “For protection: my own and people around me … like you. You’d be amazed how a simple hair style change makes a difference.” She chuckled to herself then almost pulled the hair in front of her scar back and decided against it. “I wore a mask for a couple of years. But when I moved to Paragon decided against it.”
It was Nathan’s turn with the bread and he gulped to get his next word out. “Why?”
Scarlet leaned forward and rested her chin on the back of her hand as her elbow gently rested on the table. “Nathan, I am not sitting here because I was cautious. I don’t believe in luck. When I came here I wanted my name to be synonymous with Justice. As silly as it sounds, I also believe Justice has a face.”
He leaned in, enjoying her candor. “It’s not silly one bit. It’s admirable and I hope not sound misogynistic.” He leaned back, “What about credit cards? Do you use your real name on them?”
She leaned back and sighed, a little disappointed, “Yes … You have a lot of questions about how I live. Although I understand the game of making me feel like the center of attention, this is starting to feel like an interview.”
Raising his glass as she spoke, his eyes popped open at the last remark. “I apologize. That was not my intent. I admit my curiosity get ahead of me.”
Scarlet sipped her drink to clear the acid from her previous comment. “I understand. Don’t get me wrong, the attention is nice.” She smiled slightly trying to give him slack. “How about you ask me something less … newsworthy?”
Nathan smiled broadly, leaned back in his chair and cupped his hands together. “Ok, how did you get the scar?”
Her eye widened and she looked over her shoulder quickly. Scarlet was caught off guard and she got hot at the realization.
His arms spread out. “Is that too personal?”
Recovering just as quick, “No … no, I asked for it.” Scarlet paused.
“It’s alright, I don’t really want to know anymore. It adds to your beauty.”
Scarlet didn’t blush but almost rolled her eye at the line. “Answer me this, aren’t you concerned at all that you are having dinner with a superhero? Being with Dawn Patrol, I’ve made a lot of enemies. Some may know who I am out of uniform.”
“A little, but I’m willing to take a risk – if there are any?”
“It depends if you make me mad.”
They smiled to one another and the server brought a tray with two plates of food to the table.
He glanced around and caught a few other men eying his date. Again, it was what he expected and Nathan felt a sense of pride. How could he be jealous of other men, he would have done the same! Of all the men in the world she could be with tonight, the Scarlet Scorpion allowed him at least one night. But that is making her more than she is.
Drinks were ordered and Scarlet kept it on the light side. Even if she were not in uniform she was still “on” as a hero. It was an unfortunate side effect of taking on the hero mantle and she had been doing it long enough to make it a part of her life now. After the order she settled into the moment, the small talk was basically over and she was waiting for Nathan to dig deeper, if he dared.
“So, Scarlet Scorpion, let’s cut to the chase …” Nathan swirled his dark liquor and looked inside the cup to pull a question from the thick liquid, then finding one. “What’s your real name?”
Oh, he’s blunt. Score one point.
“Tsk tsk Mr. Maddox, that’s for me to keep for myself.”
Nathan smiled. “I expected you to say that. I hope you don’t mind me trying?”
Scarlet smiled back, “Not at all. I’m a little impressed you made the attempt so early this evening.”
“So, why keep it a secret? As you know, some heroes have chosen to make their real identity open. As all heroes are registered, why keep it hidden from the public? You don’t wear a mask, haven’t you been recognized somewhere at some time?” He used his fingers to deftly mimic the scars on his face.
Scarlet broke a piece of bread as he spoke. By the time he finished she had swallowed the piece and quietly thought about the answer, ignoring the motion he made with his hand. “For protection: my own and people around me … like you. You’d be amazed how a simple hair style change makes a difference.” She chuckled to herself then almost pulled the hair in front of her scar back and decided against it. “I wore a mask for a couple of years. But when I moved to Paragon decided against it.”
It was Nathan’s turn with the bread and he gulped to get his next word out. “Why?”
Scarlet leaned forward and rested her chin on the back of her hand as her elbow gently rested on the table. “Nathan, I am not sitting here because I was cautious. I don’t believe in luck. When I came here I wanted my name to be synonymous with Justice. As silly as it sounds, I also believe Justice has a face.”
He leaned in, enjoying her candor. “It’s not silly one bit. It’s admirable and I hope not sound misogynistic.” He leaned back, “What about credit cards? Do you use your real name on them?”
She leaned back and sighed, a little disappointed, “Yes … You have a lot of questions about how I live. Although I understand the game of making me feel like the center of attention, this is starting to feel like an interview.”
Raising his glass as she spoke, his eyes popped open at the last remark. “I apologize. That was not my intent. I admit my curiosity get ahead of me.”
Scarlet sipped her drink to clear the acid from her previous comment. “I understand. Don’t get me wrong, the attention is nice.” She smiled slightly trying to give him slack. “How about you ask me something less … newsworthy?”
Nathan smiled broadly, leaned back in his chair and cupped his hands together. “Ok, how did you get the scar?”
Her eye widened and she looked over her shoulder quickly. Scarlet was caught off guard and she got hot at the realization.
His arms spread out. “Is that too personal?”
Recovering just as quick, “No … no, I asked for it.” Scarlet paused.
“It’s alright, I don’t really want to know anymore. It adds to your beauty.”
Scarlet didn’t blush but almost rolled her eye at the line. “Answer me this, aren’t you concerned at all that you are having dinner with a superhero? Being with Dawn Patrol, I’ve made a lot of enemies. Some may know who I am out of uniform.”
“A little, but I’m willing to take a risk – if there are any?”
“It depends if you make me mad.”
They smiled to one another and the server brought a tray with two plates of food to the table.
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