Cole's focus on her had been clouded for some time. It was part of how he could excuse so many of the little things, and help justify everything else that set off alarms in his mind. Still, everyone made mistakes. When her image on film had shown those reflective eyes and the spirit like outlines around her form, he discarded it. Her constant jabs at him to keep him off balance? Ignored. Her almost surreal attention to detail within the crime scene? A useful skill. Her connection to a Bakeneko of all creatures?! Well, their world made for some exceptionally strange bed fellows.<br/><br/>It was when she said, “Hmm I agree but honestly what I have so far is only more questions.”<i>That</i>was when Cole's focus suddenly snapped back into a razor thin line. Cat was good, very good, but she wasn't perfect. She had gathered too much data, held too many cards, and now as if to press her luck, she claimed to have nothing. It was a half-truth<i>at best. </i>In a fraction of a second, Cole's caged emotion seemed to peak and then all at once flat-line, and while his Djinn traits had nothing to do with it, one could swear the temperature in the room dropped just a few degrees.<br/><br/>In the next instant, his course of action had already been decided. She was hiding something, certainly, but it would do him no good to press for answers here and now<i>before</i>they had made use of her connection. He needed to see this through. Once this was done, however, he was through playing her game.<br/><br/>He regarded her in cold silence for a moment and then nodded back towards the rear door, "Let's get moving. The longer they're in the wind, the more time they have to cover their tracks and the harder our job becomes." He headed out the back, barely waiting for her to follow, "This Cheshire... you say he plays both sides, but there has to be exceptions. People he's made enemies of. Maybe he's trying to stay out of someone's cross-hairs, or maybe someone owes him a favor. We need to capitalize on that. If we can't then all we have left is his pride, which can be useful, but is more of gamble." He neared her bike and waited by while she gathered up her helmet and climbed on, "Also, you should tell me now if he knows your face or has some vendetta against you. Don't lie. We'll only find out for certain when we meet up with him, so you may as well tell me now so I can know what to expect. If he hates you enough, it might be ideal to use you as leverage." His red eyes flicked to her for a moment, "As a ruse of course. The queen has specified that we should work together on this and that comes with an element of protection. While I have no doubt you'd be able to handle yourself, if this Bakeneko is half as powerful as you say, you'll need all the help you can get."<br/><br/>Cole climbed on as she brought the bike's engine roaring to life. Again his slight embrace seemed to narrow the blur that tried (and failed) to cloak his features from her enhanced senses. Again, those ruby eyes seemed like crystals cutting through the soul, but there was a subtle undertone to his presence now. The conflict within him was now kept in check by an overwhelming cold certainty. The flicker of warmth still existed, deep down, but it was his practice to never listen too hard to that voice. One of his golden rules stuck fast in his mind, '<i>All roads lead to betrayal.'</i>