Columbia cab number 23 rolls down Elson, coming to a stop at a light at Twelfth. Marcus seems to be working the radio, unable to find anything good on.

The front door of the somewhat dilapidated six-story apartment building opens, and Bernie comes hopping down the steps, looking cheerful and energetic, on the whole.

Marcus finally finds something that at leaast doesn't make his hair stand on end, and so he leaves the radio be. This allows him, coincidentally, to look up just as Bernie comes out of the door. "Hey, yo!" he yells, though whether she can hear over the midmorning street-noise is another matter. Just to be sure, he gives the horn a quick hit.

Bernie glances up, startled, as her feet hit the pavement proper, and looks around for the source of the noise. Spotting the cab, she smiles again, and peers at it curiously, breaking into a grin again as she recognizes the driver. "Hey!" she calls, heading quickly toward the curb nearest the car, "'sup?"

By this time the twelfth street light's turned green and Marcus is holding up traffic. Two cars behind him, some guy in a BMW urges him to get with the program by laying on his own horn. The cabbie idly flips him off while at the same time turning his more jovial attention to Bernie. "Hey, girl. Whatchoo doing? Want a ride?"

"Not much, an' sure, what th' heck. Not goin' anywhere in particular, though..." the girl replies, stepping out between the parked cars toward the passenger side door.

Marcus hits the accelerator even before Bernie's got her door properly closed. He makes the light, but the BMW doesn't. His smile at that fact is decidedly smug. Turning to Bernie, he looks her over and then back at the place he picked her up. "I didn't know you lived up this way."

Bernie fastens her seatbelt once the door's shut, and flashes a grin back at the fuming Beamer boy. Turning forward again, she replies, "Mrm? Oh, I don't. 'course, I don't really live anywhere, but hey." She grins again, getting comfortable in the seat, backpack on her lap. "So 'sup? How's it been goin'?"

Marcus doubletakes before he turns down 16th street. "Whatya mean you don't live anywhere? You gotta be somewhere."

Bernie shrugs, apparently not too concerned about being, technically, homeless. "Well, I've got plennya places t' crash an' all, I jus' don' have a -home- at th' moment. 'less I go back t' L.A., but no thanks, maybe later." She grins again, watching the city pass by the windows as they drive, "...so it's okay, I do have places t' be."

Marcus eyes Bernie for a second out of the corner of his eye. "You sure? I mean, you know you can crash at my place, right? If you need to?"

Without seeming to realise she's doing it, one of Bernie's hands moves up and closes around the key on the chain around her neck, pulling it slightly away from her chest. She smiles, glancing over to Marcus, and nods a bit, "Thanks... 's good t' know, 'case I need t' sometime. Prolly okay though."

Marcus smiles in answer and nods emphatically--as if to say 'good'. "So," he goes on, "If it wasn't yours, who's place was it? Back there."

Bernie blinks a second, not completely awake yet, as the track of the conversation switches. "Oh!" she exclaims as she catches up, "'s Matt's new place. 's pretty nice, 'specially now that th' couch act'ly got lugged up into th' flat 'steada sittin' in th' U-Haul..."

Marcus tries that smile again, his dark eyes looking vaguely amused. "Who's Matt?" he asks, next.

Bernie seems stuck on how to answer that for a moment. "Matt's... Matt," she replies, in much the same way one might say chocolate was chocolate when unaccountably asked to explain it. "'s my best friend, him an' 'licia are, I mean. He's from London an' stuff." She casts a glance around the inside of the car, speculatively, possibly debating whether there's any reason not to speak freely in it.

Marcus catches Bernie's drift, only after a fleeting puzzled expression shadows his eyes. "Aw, no, it's cool in here. We're cool. So's this Matt one of Mama Rat's boys, or is he just a cousin, like me?"

"Neither," Bernie replies, with perhaps the barest hint of disappointment in the word, but it's hard to be sure as she grins and adds with obvious amusement, "though, onea Mama Rat's spirits was damn s'prised t' find that out. 'proveda him an' all. Was really funny... but nah, he's Fianna. He's cool though. 'f y' mention him t' most of th' other Gnawers here they'll all tell ya how much he rocks too." She absently continues to play with her 'necklace', such as it is.

"Oh," Marcus says, nodding to each point lazily as he turns the cab again, heading back south. Eventually, a slow smile takes to his features. Apparently he finds something overly amusing. Maybe he's reading into things. "Gotcha," he says. "You had breakfast yet?"

Bernie shakes her head. "Nah... I was thinkin' I'd go get, like, a donut or somethin', but then I ran inta you, so." No need to explain -that- any further.

Marcus makes a low noise in his throat. "Donuts sound gooooood," he says, dragging out the last word. He's already heading for Andy's shop, anyway. "You seen Max or Kaz anywhere lately? They ain't been around much. I was getting worried, like I missed a memo or something."

Bernie's brow furrows as she thinks back, and then shakes her head. "Act'ly, no. Haven' seen Max in like a week I think, an' Kaz longer... only, I've seen lotsa th' others 'round, an' I think someone'd've said 'f anything worrisome was up, y'know?"

This only makes Marcus look even more worried, for some reason. "Yeah," he says. "Sure. I guess they's just busy then." He shrugs, trying not to look like he's wondering what he did wrong. Pulling up into Andy's, though, turns his attention to the sign that says 'hot coffee / fresh donuts'.

Bernie regards Marcus for a moment, head tilted. "You 'kay?" she queries, sounding somewhat worried herself, though almost certianly not for the same reasons.

Marcus shrugs again, turning the cab off and pulling the keys free. "Na, it ain't nothing. I should know better. You guys need to be able to disappear quick when shit comes down. Nobody owes me nuthing. I ain't a parole officer, you dig? So it's cool."

Bernie ahs, catching on, and nods. "Sure they'll be back 'round 'fore y'know it, an' eat all your food," she teases, "...I heard you make killer steaks." With that, she releases the necklace and undoes the seatbelt, shifting her backpack in preparation to get out. "So, donuts?"

Marcus looks suddenly very surprised, and maybe a little embarassed. The flicker of a look comes and goes almost too quickly to be noticed, replaced by Marcus's usual cool. "Oh, she told you bout that, huh?"

Bernie lifts a brow at the fleeting reaction... interesting. She grins, and shrugs, replying in a cheerful if somewhat noncommittal tone, "That's what Max said..."

Marcus gets out of the cab and strolls toward the donut shop. He's inside and seated comfortably before he says another word. "So," he starts serruptitiously, "What else did Max say about it?"

Bernie shuts the cab door carefully behind her, and follows Marcus inside, smiling slightly the whole time. When they're seated, donuts and coffee before them as Gaia intended, she picks one out and lays it out on a napkin in front of her on the table, glancing up at Marcus as he speaks. "Oh," she replies a bit reluctantly, keeping her voice down and letting her gaze quickly take in the rest of the room, "...I dunno that it'd be right for me t' be repeatin' what anyone said an' all..."

Marcus really /does/ look worried now, and he does the only thing he knows how to do in such cases--he turns on the charm. Bernie gets a bright smile and a soothing, cajoling tone. "Why not? I mean, what could it harm? We're all friends, right?"

"'course we are," Bernie replies, eyes widening a bit, and she gives Marcus a quick, reassuring smile that turns apologetic as she continues earnestly, "...I'm just not sure it's -right- t' repeat things a friend tells you in confidence, y'know? But then again..." She trails off, giving him a thoughtful look, and then looks down to her donut -- a glazed twist, which she begins to untwist, pulling a piece off to begin nibbling on a bit.

Marcus folds his arms in front of him on the table, and now his tone can't help but be eager, his smile almost conspiratorial. "She said stuff in 'confidence'? You mean, for real?"

Bernie peels off another piece of donut, and eats it slowly, as usual not talking with her mouth full. She regards Marcus thoughtfully, washing the pastry down with a mouthful of coffee, and says nothing, for now.

Marcus sips his own coffee, and looks about to press the matter once more when his radio beeps. Taking the call, he looks thoroughly disappointed. "I gotta run. But look, I'll catch up with you later in the day, ok?" He doesn't really even have time to wait for answer, so he simply grabs two of the donuts and is heading for the door. Bernie gets a wave from outside as the cab pulls back out into the street.