American Hamburger Who: Tal/Noah What: Dinner and a Show Where: Las Vegas, Street/Carson Kitchen When: Present Ratings/Warnings: Things Get Set on Fire
It was past 5 o’ clock in the early evening. In this area of Las Vegas, most people were coming home from work or school, occupational roamers instead of gawking tourists. Most minded their own business, traveling along the sidewalk at a steady clip, gaze resting somewhere around their shoes. An elderly man smoking a cigarette was contrasted by a lanky teen puffing on an electronic vaping device. Analog versus digital.
Noah leaned against one wall, idly checking his phone for the status of his Uber ride. It was in the middle of a surge, and the assigned vehicle looked to be a good 12 to 15 minutes away, still. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. The pyrokinetic had been up all night, had yet to be to bed at all, taking care of some impromptu business. He had been summoned around midnight to take care of some deadbeat who decided to act like a high roller.
Tal made routine trips back to his ‘nest’ warehouse in Vegas to grab more clothes, check on things. The usual. He had a larger wardrobe these days - another suit, a few leisurely ‘Hawaiian’ shirts. He was smiling a lot more, but still so secretive when it came to his home base.
Walking down the street from the warehouse, he was looking up a restaurant, an Uber, and a picture of Roman’s smiling face on his phone when he looked up to see a dark-haired man a few steps before he was going to run into him.
Noah heard footsteps getting closer on his left and looked up curiously. It took a moment to place the tall blond, then his mind flashed to the New Year’s Eve party at the Bellagio. Roman’s arm candy. He hit cancel on his Uber and pushed off from the wall. “Hey,” he called out conversationally. “Are you...Tal?” Of course the pyrokinetic remembered the name. He arranged his features into something resembling friendliness.
“I’m a friend of Roman’s,” he explained. “We’ve worked together a few times. You work in Searchlight, right?”
“Hi?” Tal blinked as he slipped his phone into his jeans pocket. He was sure he hadn’t met Noah before. But he slowed to a stop. He looked nice. It was strange to run into anyone this close to his home that knew him by name.
“Uh, yeah. That’s me. Really?” he smiled. “Yes, I do. At Hutchins’. Are you a lawyer?”
“Nah,” Noah answered, his phone still in one hand. “I work in debt management. He helps me out by sending clients my way.” He was able to study Tal up close. Maddy had been correct, the taller man was visually appealing.
“What brings you to Vegas? Besides the fact that everything is here.” The pyrokinetic let his smile shift into a knowing grin.
“Oh? That’s good.” Tal smiled. It was curious that Roman sent work along to others. But lawyers did have a wide range of clients. Noah was curious to him and wondered if he could do anything special.
Then he lightly laughed. “Oh, the food and time off from work. You?”
“I live here,” Noah explained, then looked at the edifice of the building he had been previously leaning on, and was amused to find that it was one of those store-front style churches. “Well, not here, obviously. But in the city.” There was something fascinating about the contrast between Tal’s external appearance and demeanor, and the pyrokinetic would have been lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to find out what emotional hold Roman had on the man.
“Have you eaten? I was just going to go grab a bite myself.” He kept his tone light, easy. Approachable.
“That’s cool. Big city,” Tal nodded. He kept his home secret from everyone. It was the one place that was wholly his - open spaces, skylights and secure The muscular man was happy and content with himself and his current relationship with Roman. It was uncharted territory especially with the amount of trust he now gave the lawyer.
“No, no I haven’t.” He blinked, his cautiousness perking it’s ears. “There are a few places not too far off.”
“There’s this place, Carson Kitchen,” Noah told Tal. “Nice and casual. Good burgers. I was heading there anyway,” he lied, holding up his phone and displaying the Uber app. “It’ll be my treat. Any friend of Roman’s…” The pyrokinetic trailed off with a harmless smile. It was a smile that said he was no threat. “I bet you can put away the food, am I right?”
“I’ve heard of that place,” Tal smiled brightly at him, the expression reaching his eyes. “Really?” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a little nervous about the whole being treated to a meal. How did he keep meeting nice people? “When I’m really hungry, yeah.”
He input the address of the restaurant into his phone. “There’s a mid-range compact sedan on its way to take us there right now,” Noah enthused. There was something kicked puppy-ish about Tal, the pyrokinetic decided. He wondered what was hiding underneath that placid surface. Perhaps a penchant for violence? A dark streak? He thought of Roman’s fondness for ‘collecting’ people with powers or abilities.
Tapping to cancel his own Uber, Tal took in a deep breath. He needed to branch out and that was what he had been doing since he met Roman. “Sounds good.” He smiled and slipped his phone into his pocket. It was true that Tal was a kicked puppy. But he often steeled himself. Everyone had a dark side, it just depended on where or when they reached their breaking point.
Noah forgot about the most dreaded part of socializing. Small talk. It’s where he often tripped up in his pursuit of emulating a fully-formed emotional being. “So,” he began, resisting the urge to hook his thumbs into his belt loops and rock on his heels, “are you from this area? Originally?” He checked his phone to see how far away their car was. “I moved to the United States when I was a teenager,” the pyrokinetic volunteered.
Trust was Tal’s tipping and tripping spot. Volunteering details of his life was treacherous in his own physical and emotional well being. “Originally...no, I’m more from the Midwest.” He spoke, keeping it a touch vague. “Cool. Where did you move from?”
“Ukraine,” he answered honestly. A moment later, the car sailed up to them. Noah opened the passenger door and motioned for Tal to get in first. He watched the tall man fold himself into the car before taking the seat next to him. “I wanted to experience the American dream.”
Tal had never been out of the United States, only recently out of the continental portion. “Wow,” he nodded and then smiled at Noah as he was motioned to get in first. He did indeed fold himself into the back seat of the sedan and move to allow the other man not to be crowded. “That’s good. How has it been going?”
He pulled a small baggie from his pocket, out of sight of Tal. Noah plucked out a round, pink tablet with a butterfly symbol embossed on it. He grabbed one of the free bottles of water from the car and used that to wash the pill down. “Successful,” he answered. “So many opportunities.”
The pyrokinetic studied Tal’s profile in the semi-darkness of the vehicle. “Did you always want to be a mechanic?”
Tal turned his head to look out the window, cautious of where they were going. “Good for you,” he smiled as he looked back over at Noah. His apprehension was rising, even if Noah knew Roman and they were in a vehicle driven by a third party.
“Mmm, I’ve always liked machinery.” Tal replied, suppressing a frown at the things that interested him before that fateful day his telekinetic ability manifested. “Then there was the whole adventurer and sports thing. But yes, being a mechanic. How about you - debt management?”
“Adventurer? Like...expeditions and stuff?” Noah watched out of the car window as they wound through traffic, car tail lights starting to blur and dance in his vision. He had been searching for something that would make him feel anything, and sometimes that meant chemical experimentation. He pressed the pad of his finger against the glass and leaned in to study his fingerprint.
“It’s the only thing I can imagine myself doing,” he told Tal, turning back to look at him. “Probably until I die.”
“Yeah, but it may have been me watching Indiana Jones too many times,” Tal shrugged as he kept an eye on where they were going. But soon he was looking over at Noah, noticing how he seemed bored. Maybe it was the time of day.
Tal smiled warmly at Noah. “That is good. If you like what you do, might as well manage to do it for as long as you can.”
Noah snorted at the mention of Indiana Jones. He looked at Tal, picturing him in the outfit. The edges of his vision were blurred, and he had to squint slightly. “I plan to,” he answered, pressing the button to lower the window. A rush of cool air hit his face, and it felt good. Part of him wanted to stick his head out like a dog, let the breeze push through his hair, but he didn’t. He was still aware of himself enough to not.
“What do you see in Roman?” the pyrokinetic asked spontaneously.
Tal wasn’t entirely sure about Noah, but thought he was interesting. A dark sort of interesting. The mechanic’s attention was sharpened due to be around someone he didn’t know, but Roman did. Trust was fragile. Tal watched Noah, curious about him but that kind curiosity slowed at the other man’s question.
“Why do you ask?” the telekinetic replied and breathed quietly and deeply.
“Curiosity,” Noah replied, leaning his head back against the seat. The noises of traffic mixed with the quiet reverberation from the music playing on the Uber driver’s radio, some pop hit about living life like it was the last night they would be alive. “Let’s just say I find the both of you sort of opposites, personality-wise.” He smiled slyly. “But I guess opposites can attract.”
What was Noah playing at? Tal wasn’t sure. But it could be harmless. Perhaps he’d ask Roman later today. “Oh. Really?” He spoke and turned his attention to the music for a few measures before catching Noah’s smile. “Am I that boring?” Tal grinned, pushing his uncertainty down a little.
“No, I mean you’re nice,” Noah blurted out before thinking. He wondered how much he wanted to tell Tal, whether to drop little breadcrumbs or lift the veil completely like he had with Ro. The pyrokinetic decided on the former, as it held more entertainment value. “You know, he has to be calculating and cunning, because of his job.”
“Oh! Thanks.” Tal nodded as he looked at Noah. He had no idea how Roman was outside of his presence. Lawyers had to be tough, smart, quick. And the mechanic wondered why Noah was so curious. “Yes, he does. He has to be.”
They were approaching the restaurant. The crowd seemed to be abating after some kind of happy hour special, a few lingering tables full. The Uber came to slow stop in a line of similar rideshare cars either dropping or picking up occupants. Noah nodded to Tal. “Here it is.” He opened the curbside door, kept it open so Tal could slide out of the vehicle, too. Getting to his feet had been a slight endeavor due to the pill he had taken, and he leaned a little against a lamppost. It was strangely comfortable, like he could stand there for hours. The pyrokinetic laughed to himself.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said, then laughed again at the banality of the statement. It was weird pretending to be normal.
Nodding, Tal climbed out of the vehicle. His eyes went To Noah’s movement and how he seemed to rest against the lamppost. What was going on? He hadn’t seen the other man take that pill earlier. And that laughter.
“Nearly always,” the mechanic smirked and stepped over to Noah. “Are you doing okay?”
“I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up,” Noah replied. Had he read that somewhere before? He shrugged and pushed off from the pole, swung open the door of the restaurant and gestured for Tal to go in first. The guy towered over him, and the pyrokinetic briefly wondered if the mechanic would be any good in a brawl. He definitely had reach. Could come in handy. “I want an American hamburger.” His accent came out more when he was inebriated. “Onward!”
That was an interesting saying. Tal hadn’t heard it before. “Thank you,” he nodded at Noah’s opening the door for him. The mechanic stepped inside the restaurant. Yes, he’d be good in a brawl, but he wasn’t one to get into one. And the last altercation Tal was in, he used his telekinesis. “Then you should have one.” He smiled and led the other man to a small table and sat down where menus were already resting on the napkin holder.
Noah picked up his menu, letting it fall open to the middle. The pictures on it were almost 3-D. The guy he had bought the pill from, some kid named Myles, had promised him a good trip. So far, so good. The pyrokinetic suspected magic was involved. “I’ve never heard of the name Tal before,” he told the other man conversationally. “Is that a family name? In my country, my name is Noyan.”
A busser came by and filled two glasses from a pitcher of ice water, the cubes clinking loudly as if they were right next to Noah’s ears.
Pulling the other menu, Tal flipped through it and found the burgers. Then he paused as Noah spoke again. He lifted his eyes to look at him. “No, it’s not. I don’t have any family. ‘Noyan’? I haven’t heard that name.”
Tal looked up at the busser and gave them a grateful nod and went back to his menu. A burger, fries, and a milkshake. He didn’t mind the idea of something from one of those old movies or even in most of Back To The Future I and II.
“Oh, I can relate to that,” Noah answered cheerfully, shaking a ketchup bottle in preparation for the delivery of his french fries. “I don’t have any family either, really. I set mine on fire.” Well, except for his younger brother who ran his own criminal enterprise in London. He wasn’t a pyrokinetic, but had a talent with knives. They weren’t sentimental or particularly brotherly, but they understood each other, and that was enough.
Tal blinked, growing still at Noah’s words. ’I set mine on fine’. “Uhm, do I need to back away slowly?” he asked as he watched the other man. The mechanic only had nearly hit someone with a baseball while using his telekinetic ability. But his family were so scared they imprisoned him under the family’s home. Yet they were not scared enough to put him in a facility.
“Oh, no, you’re safe,” Noah answered easily. Their food was set down before them, and the pyrokinetic stared at his burger, looking for a good angle of attack. “I don’t usually set things on fire in public. Well, except that one time…” He thought of the incident with the mutant creatures and Katherine, and smiled fondly at the memory. “Plus, I don’t have any reason to hurt you.”
“Okay,” Tal smiled, portraying his friendliest exterior despite the dull pang of fear of being set on fire. Was Noah pyrokinetic or merely a pyromaniac? He moved his milkshake to the left side of his plate as he breathed in the scent of the grilled beef and the fries. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want your meal interrupted.” Tal made a mental note to ask Roman about Noah once this night was over.
Noah was definitely not thinking clearly. His head was somewhere else, in a place where things were very colorful and bright. He even had to squint to look at Tal. Whatever Myles had given him was good stuff. He was definitely feeling something. It lessened some of the crushing nothingness that weighed on him every day. Which could explain what he did next. “Look, I’ll show you what I can do.”
He twisted around in his seat, looking for a potential target. There was a man berating a server for an undercooked piece of meat, really laying into the woman, who was clutching her order book and looked to be on the verge of tears. Noah concentrated, and the dish went up in flames, nearly taking off the complainee’s eyebrows in the process. His tie even caught on fire, and the server instinctively grabbed a pitcher of ice water from another passing employee and dumped it all over the man.
The mechanic hadn’t been around anyone under the influence of drugs, alcohol yes. He wasn’t one to even do drugs. So he watched Noah, unsure of what was going on. Then Tal’s first suspicion was confirmed.
“Oh shit,” Tal whispered as he lifted a hand to cover his mouth. He couldn’t react fast enough to contemplate using his telekinesis. “Noah?”
“Yeah, I should probably go,” Noah laughed, watching the wet man sputtering in confusion, shaking his soaking hair out like a dog, ice cubes flinging everywhere. He reached into his pocket and found a fifty dollar bill and plunked it down on the table. “Thanks for the company, Tal. See you around. Well, not in Searchlight, I’m banned from there. Apparently people think attempted murder is a crime.” The pyrokinetic rolled his eyes and waved before turning around, scampering out of the restaurant as a small group of firemen were spilling inside, looking for the fire.
Dumbfounded for a few seconds, Tal watched Noah as he laid down the fifty, thanked him, half-way confessed to a possible crime ,and then left. Then he too put down a twenty dollar bill for good measure before grabbing a styrofoam box, dumping his burger and fries into it, and exited the restaurant.