Room 508 to Baltimore, Friday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy studied herself in the mirror, frowning slightly. She had done a lot of stuff as Banzai, but trying to infiltrate the mafia in disguise was a whole new level of scary. If she messed up, the Ukrainians would know a lot more about her than she really wanted them too--like what she looked like, as just one exciting example. But this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up; they were recruiting locals under the guise of a motorcycle drag race, with the top performers invited to a very exclusive party--so exclusive that no matter how hard she tried, Kathy couldn't get the location. Over the past year, she'd managed to create a decent circle of street-level informants and yet no one could tell her anything besides what was 'public' knowledge: an illegal drag race, with plenty of money to be made from betting, and an excellent afterparty for the winners. That was it.

It was all very frustrating as hell.

Even the race itself was frustrating. If it had at least been a drag race with cars, Kathy might have been able to put her Driver's Ed experience into play...somehow. She was still lacking a car, but she would have at least known how to race. Ish. Maybe. But this was a motorcycle race, and Kathy had one hour of experience driving one of those from several years ago. That would get her exactly nowhere. If she had more time, she might even have been able to appeal to Parker or Eliot for help, but she'd just gotten the message that everything was going down tonight.

Kathy didn't often swear, but this whole situation deserved quite a hearty "God dammit!"

Her current plan was to dress like a biker bunny, head to where the race was going to take place, and hope to insinuate herself in the group that got brought to the party. Yeah, she could foresee no problems with that, sure.



[Primarily for one, but open to the roomie beforehand if she so chooses. Everything that happens after they leave the island is NFB for distance.]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

Somehow, Dante still hadn't managed to master the ability to sit still for more than half-hour increments at a time. And yesterday, wandering had led to an excellent afternoon with Alana, so hey, motivation, and shit.

Couple floors up, and he was near Kathy's. Might as well stick his head in and maybe follow up on--

"What the fuck?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Well, gee, that sure sounded promising.

"Hi, Dante," Kathy said, looking over her shoulder to nod him inside. "What the fuck what?"

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante planted his shoulders against the wall and crossed his arms. He nodded at her (though not without sneaking a glance at the legs). "Didn't know you liked to run ladies' night at the fetish club," he said.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy turned around fully now, though mostly because she was looking for something to throw at him. "Ha ha," she said sourly. "Yup, you guessed my other secret identity. I'm DJ Wallflower at The Saint Andrew's Cross, however did you guess?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Something something you wearing like three layers of leather?" Dante offered.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I take my steak-eating very seriously," Kathy drawled. "Seriously, though. This is a one night change of attire for Banzai. I have a feeling the white gi and rainbows aren't going to cut it for where I'm going tonight."

[rebelseekspizza]

"...Still sounds like The Saint Andrew's Cross to me," Dante said, tilting his head.

Looking amused, of course.

"You think there's superhero fetish clubs already?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I can honestly say I've never given it any thought," Kathy said, now debating whether trusting his reflexes meant she could get away with throwing a textbook at his head or if she should still go with something soft, like a pillow. Or a shoe. "There's a party tonight that I need--"

Wait. Kathy was putting her projectile plans aside for a moment.

"Dante, do you know how to ride a motorcycle?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah," Dante said, tilting his head at her, confusion clear in his eyes. "Why?"

He managed to at least restrain himself from mentioning it had involved dubiously-legally-acquired motorcycles at the time.

[spin_kick_snap]

That was okay. This entire plan was dubious at best--and would like involve obtaining at least a few things of uncertain provenance.

"Good enough to race?" she pressed. "Good enough to win?"

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante squinted at her. Squinted at her good.

The quarter dropped.

"Wait, are you trying to get into a street race?" he said. "Talk about out of your fucking depth, Kat." Beat. "But yeah, probably." He had no idea. Being pretty sure there was no way riding a motorcycle could kill you helped, though.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Is this normal racing attire?" Kathy asked, gesturing to her skirt and heeled boots. "No. I know there's no way in hell I could actually do anything but embarrass myself in a street race." Assuming she could jump free of a crash in time. "But I know where one is being held tonight. And I need to be part of the group that accompanies the winners to the afterparty. I was going to go and hopefully flirt my way in--" her expression suggested she knew about how well that would go "--but I'd like something more sure, if possible."

[rebelseekspizza]

"So... you want me to get into a street race," Dante said slowly, "So you can get these guys."

On the one hand, he gave absolutely no shit about her anti-mafia crusade. On the other hand, this afternoon had been starting to look kind of boring.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, I do now," Kathy said, sitting on the edge of her desk. "I wasn't planning on hunting you down and trying to get you involved."

Mostly because she hadn't thought of it. But since he was here, well, she could hardly look a gift Dante in the...mouth?

"But yes. You race. I tag along as your plus-one. You get me into the party. Then you can bail to do whatever you want with the rest of your evening." And Kathy would do her best not to get caught poking around.

Win-win for everybody!

[rebelseekspizza]

"All right."

What? There were worse ways to spend an evening, and maybe he'd even get laid with someone he hadn't met yet.

"'Course, we'll need to lift a bike first."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Really?" Kathy had been prepared to argue a lot more before he agreed. "Awesome! And yes, yes we will. But I know a chop shop that specializes in bikes. They should have what we need. And if they don't..." She shrugged, looking remarkably unconcerned that they were discussing grand theft auto, especially considering the hell she'd given Ezra over lifting a stereo. "There are going to be lots of people coming to participate. If one of them takes a nap in an alley for a little while, no harm no foul. We'll give it back when we're done."

[rebelseekspizza]

Aw. Give it back. That was cute.

If Dante didn't manage to get it blown up to begin with.

"Then we have a plan," he said merrily. Entertainment for today: settled. "Let me go get my coat, I'll see you at the causeway."

He turned around without waiting for an answer.

[spin_kick_snap]

She wouldn't argue with him keeping a bike if they liberated it from the chop shop?

Kathy was tempted to toss a line from meta for-Clerks at Dante's retreating back, but refrained. He was helping her, after all. Instead she put the last finishing touches on her makeup, grabbed her bag, and headed for the causeway. She practiced her walk on the way there; she wouldn't be able to move at her usual brisk pace once they were at the party. She had to fit in, to seem like she was the kind of girl who'd attend that kind of party for fun. Less a stride and more a strut, really.

This was so much more complicated than just patrolling rooftops, damn.

[rebelseekspizza]

For shits and giggles, Dante snagged his black shirt with the holes in it and the black skinny jeans with possibly even more holes in them, as well as the coat. He arrived at the causeway a couple of minutes after her, and, well, even if he had had a reason to lose his natural swagger, he wouldn't have.

It was the principle of the thing.

"You gonna turn that frown upside down?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"This is really hard," Kathy said, still concentrating. "At least until we get to the party and I can disappear, I'm supposed to be mostly decorative. The kind of girl who hangs on your arm now to hang off your--" she faltered for a moment, then rallied. "--your dick later. It's a completely different kind of invisible and not one I'm used to."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Here's some advice," Dante said. He reached out and tried to tap her, gently, on the side of the head. "Stop thinkin' so hard."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm really bad at not thinking," Kathy admitted quietly, smiling a little at the tap. "I get caught up in my own head a lot. The only way to shut that off is if I can lose myself in what I'm doing. It's why I like being Banzai so much." With most other people, she wouldn't have added the next part, but this was Dante. She figured he'd understand. "And why I enjoy Ezra so much. He's good at shutting my brain off, so I can just...experience things without analyzing them."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante shrugged. It was more of a 'yeah, I get that' kind of shrug than anything else. "Right. And here, you're pretending to be someone who's just in this to have fun," he said. "So that's all you should be doing - trying to have a good time."

He tilted his head at her speculatively, thinking about this.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Hanging out with people who would shoot me if they knew who I really was is not my idea of a good time," Kathy grumbled. Then, "Yeeees? You look like you're thinking of something."

Should she be nervous?

[rebelseekspizza]

This time, the shrug only involved one shoulder, meant something else entirely than the last time, and ended in Dante stepping forward and into her personal space. "Eh," he said, "I try not to think much."

And that was more or less the point where he went in for the kiss, at least if she let him.