Man in the Long Black Coat

Sara's sandal slips off and hits the bar floor with a muted thump. She sighs and rolls her eyes at herself as she slides off of her stool to retrieve it. She slips it back on and climbs back up onto the stool. She can't seem to control this restless energy, must be something in the air. She feels as if she's been cooped up all of her life and she's just about to break free. The delay is killing her. Still, she doesn't know what exactly it is that she's waiting for. She takes a long pull of her beer and finishes it off. The band is getting ready to start so she slips off to the bathroom to check her makeup and fix her hair. It's time to snare someone to dance with and burn off a bit of this energy.

While Sara is in the restroom, the stranger walks into the bar. He draws some glances and several outright stares. Strangers aren't a common thing in the little town and something about this man makes him stand out. His black hair has been released from its ponytail and it shadows his face. His skin is a warm brown, his features balanced, but not really worth comment. He's of a medium build, tall and a little broad. He would be almost plain except, there is a presence about him that makes you want to serve him, to please him. He glides over to the bar; ignoring the stares though he's aware of them. He orders a beer; some import that rarely actually gets ordered but is kept in stock for the few people who do drink it.

When Sara emerges, her gaze is drawn directly to the stranger and she halts in her progress towards the bar. It's HIM. She hasn't ever gotten a good look at him, but she knows it somewhere deep in her gut. How did he find her? How is he even real? Dreams don't just sprout legs and go walking about, yet there HE is. When she's bumped by a drunken couple stumbling on the dance floor, she is shaken from her thoughts. She starts walking again, drawn inexplicably to the man who seems to be waiting patiently for her to make her way to him. He's pinned her with his gaze, patient grey eyes seem to beckon her.

The stranger looks towards Sara as she emerges. He feels her as she reenters the room and he has to fight to keep an amused smile from marring his face as he watches her stop and stare. Yes, she's everything that he imagined, and a little more. The wildness in her eyes becomes her, the slightly windblown hair that couldn't quite be tamed, and that stunned expression as she notices him. Enchanting, everything about her is just perfect and he's dying to make it all his. He nearly rises from his place as she's bumped, but when she doesn't appear to be harmed he controls the quick flare of temper. He watches the realization dawn in her eyes as she comes back down to earth and he wills her to come to him. When she comes to a halt in front of him he gives her a small smile, encouraging her to speak.

"Hi," she says softly, "I'm Sara. Would you like to dance?" Her gaze never leaves his eyes and a small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she wonders just what she is doing asking this stranger to dance with her. Still it seems fortuitous, her dream lover appearing just as she is aching to escape from the mundane reality of her life.

The stranger takes her hand as he rises from the stool. "Dante," he murmurs and graces her with a slow smile. He leads her to the dance floor without another word. He pulls her close and they sway to the slow music, their bodies pressed tight. They don't notice the rest of the room, it's all fallen away and only the two of them remain.

Sara feels as if she's dancing on the moon, so far is she separated from the world around her. She leans into HIM, Dante, and the smile never leaves her lips. A warm kind of calm begins to fill her. All is right now. This is what she's been looking for all of these years. This man, her knight, evening if he doesn't quite shine.

Jack watches the strange interlude between his friend and the man. He can't help but think that Sara has found her trouble. He serves his customers with only half his attention, keeping his focus on the couple. They would make a striking combination that he might pause to admire, a blending of dark and light, if it wasn't for his suspicions about the stranger. As it is, Jack has a clenching in his gut and he fears for his friend. When they come to collect Sara's purse and jacket, Jack follows them out, intent on stopping trouble before it can actually begin. The couple doesn't even notice that he follows them out to the small parking lot and are startled when he confronts them.

"Sara-Jane, what do you think you are doing? Do you even know this man?" he asks, trying to tug her away from the imposing man.

Sara's attention is snapped to the present and she looks over at Jack. "This is Dante, Jack. I've known him for a long time now," she says in a soft voice.

"The hell you have, Sara-Jane. You've never mentioned him, and I've never laid eyes on him in this town before tonight." He eyes the man as he speaks, mentally sizing him up. When all the man does is lift a brow, Jack returns to trying to convince Sara, saving him for later. "I'll bet you haven't either."

"I've seen him every night for years," Sara insists in that too quiet voice. "Please, Jack, it's him that I've been waiting for. Just let us go."

"Waiting for? How can you wait for someone that you don't even know?" Jack takes an aggressive step forward intent on taking Sara home with him before she gets in any more trouble. "I'll…" Anything else that might have been said is cut off as Jack suddenly slumps to the ground. A man had moved up behind him and hit him solidly on the back of the head. Jack is bundled into the backseat of the Mercedes and Sara and Dante slip into the front, leaving everything behind them.

When Jack awakens he finds his arm wrapped around Sara. His bleary eyes struggle to focus on their surroundings. It's strange enough to awaken in the bed with the person that he considers his sister, stranger still that he has no idea where he is. Everything comes back to him and he sits up, panicked. He starts to shake Sara, "Wake up. Dammit, what have you done?"

Sara opens her eyes and mumbles wearily, "Are we there, yet?"

"Are we where?" Jack asks. "We're on a damned plane, Sara-Jane."

"Oh," she replies and slowly rises from the makeshift bed, "not there then. I'll just find some coffee." On the way to the little kitchen, Sara hazards a glance out of the jets windows. The moon was rising, they would be there soon.

"She never said nothing
there was nothing she wrote,
She's gone with the man
In the long black coat."