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

[spin_kick_snap]

Ezra hadn't stopped by her room, now had he? And Kathy didn't even know if Ezra knew how to ride a motorcycle.

Also, this whole evening sounded like effort, so he might not have been interested in the first place.

"I'm not sending you in alone to fight my battles for me," Kathy said, frowning. "Besides, it's not like we can just snatch the first bike we see. We have to make sure it works, that it's fast, that you can handle it..." She sighed, twisting her ponytail up into a bun. "We're gonna have to take out everyone in there."

[rebelseekspizza]

See, there was another tick in the 'differences between Dante and Ezra' box - Dante didn't mind effort, as long as it involved adrenaline. Or nudity. Or both.

Either way, now he was shrugging again. "Won't be that hard," he said. "Fuckers won't see us coming."

Hey, maybe he'd punch a hole in the wall instead of using the door.

[spin_kick_snap]

Well--half a tick. Ezra generally didn't mind effort so long as it involved nudity.

And for once, Kathy wasn't a figure in blinding white and eye-catching rainbows, which would help with them being a little more inconspicuous. "So, plan?" she asked. "I've got a couple of mini-flashbangs in my purse if we want a decent distraction."

Ahh, the wonders of AP Chemistry.

[rebelseekspizza]

"I figured we'd find the part the bikes are in," Dante said, "Punch a hole in the wall, then punch whatever comes at us."

Beat. "Until we're out of bad guys."

This was more or less how his life usually shook out.

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"I do a lot less damage with punching than you do," Kathy pointed out. "And I'm a lot more prone to injury. I don't even have the usual protection of my gi tonight. I can outrun knives and stuff, but not bullets."

And was really okay with never having to test out Barry's promises of how bulletproof her gi was at not-point blank range.

"Hopefully they'll just have, like, tools and chains or whatever. Ooh, I've always wanted to get into a chain fight. Okay, really I always wanted to learn how to chainfight, but getting into one would also be fun."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Plus hey, those flashbangs are cool," Dante mused. "I could do the punching, you could hit 'em with one of those and free them of whatever chain or gun or whatever they came in with."

And if she got shot at anyway, well, she had a meat shield?

He paused. "...Heh. Free them of their chains."

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"That's a reference I don't think I'm getting," Kathy said. "But anyway, that works for me, so long as you make sure not to look when the flashbang goes off. If I yell, 'Now!' close your eyes."

Because even knowing that Dante could take two to the chest didn't mean she was comfortable watching watching him get hurt, dammit. She was a hero and heroes never let their friends suffer if they could prevent it.

[rebelseekspizza]

"All right," Dante said easily. "Hey, look, we've got a plan."

He nodded down the street. "Now which one of these is the place?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy pointed at an unassuming concrete building, whitewashed over with a crisscross of chains over a rusty loading bay door. The door looked like it hadn't been opened in about twenty years.

"That one," she said. "The chains and the rust are pretty decent camouflage, it took me forever to figure out which building it was. The chains aren't actually attached to anything, though and the rust is all on the front, not around any of the moving parts." She worried at her lower lip, teeth flashing white in the darkness. "But the building is made of concrete. We're going to have to find a different plan just you punching our way in."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah."

Dante was already moving. Okay, concrete: not his favorite thing to punch. Even his strength had limits, and this was going to hurt. And maybe scratch his favorite pair of fingerless gloves. If only he had a convenient rock-covering he could summon for them.

He slipped around to the side of the building and found what looked like... well, there probably wouldn't be a wall behind this wall, right?

[spin_kick_snap]

Likely not!

Kathy followed him on catlike feet, her heeled boots not making a sound even on the gravel. "Are you looking for another way in?" she asked softly. Sure, he'd said 'Nah' to her question earlier, but maybe she'd misinterpreted? After all, this was bloody concrete.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante slipped off his gloves and shoved them in his pockets - they were really nice - and cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders.

Then he pulled back his arm and hit the wall with all of the force he could produce. Chunks of concrete came loose from the top of the wall, crumpling down; large cracks spiraled out from where his fist had hit.

Okay. One more. (And repress that wince.)

[spin_kick_snap]

"Holy shit!" Kathy yelped, forgetting to be quiet. But then, punching the concrete was hardly a quiet prospect, either, so it likely didn't matter much. "Dante! Is your hand okay?"

Yes, yes, he could heal--look it was still surprising, okay?

[rebelseekspizza]

"It'll be fine," Dante grunted. He struck again. This time, the concrete crumbled where he struck it, and light from the inside of the building came pouring out - along with surprised yelling.

He turned nimbly and kicked right above the hole he'd made a second later, and that sent that piece loose and rocketing across the room, smacking the opposing wall.

The mark on his back flared up with light as the scrapes just melted off his hands. (And his neck, unfortunately.)

[spin_kick_snap]

That just meant she'd have to put it back, didn't it? Though that kind of thinking was for later--right now Kathy was darting inside, pulling one of the flashbangs out of her purse and tossing it to the ground. "Now!" she shouted just to make sure Dante was looking away.

Sure, he'd probably figured out what she was doing already, but when you agree you're going to yell something to keep everyone safe, you yelled it.

Kathy shut her own eyes against the blast, light pounding against her eyelids anyway. Pained cursing followed from those inside and as soon as the light faded, she was amongst the carjackers in a blur of kicks and punches, a graceful hurricane of violence.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante'd turned his head away only barely in time, actually, but he avoided getting a pair of dancing spots in his vision by the seat of his pants. He was inside a moment later - and wonder upon wonders, didn't let the sight of Kathy doing her thing distract him.

He had his own thing to do.

Which, unfortunately for the first three carjackers he encountered, was playing 'One Punch'.

[spin_kick_snap]

Aww, but Kathy was doing her thing in leather and a very tiny skirt! If there was anytime to be distracted by her--

--It was probably not now, actually. Not with one of the guys having the brilliant idea of shooting blindly in the general direction of where the hole in the wall had appeared.

"Fuck!" Kathy snapped, genuinely concerned. Blind shooting was no one's friend. She was set to go over and take the guy out from behind, but one of the less stupid carjackers swung out with a wrench in the direction of her voice and Kathy was suddenly a lot more concerned with not getting her head bashed in.

That was one big wrench.

"Let's dance," she said with a manic grin she didn't even realize she was wearing, and jumped up on the wrench itself to deliver a kick right to the side of the guy's head.

[rebelseekspizza]

Fun fact: sex was only Dante's second preoccupation - and coping mechanism. Now, violence-- that was number one, top spot, no distractions. Especially if he could make it pretty.

A bullet from Mr. Let's Fire Wildly struck him straight in the shoulder. He spun around, and suddenly Ivory was in his hand. A lamp hanging off the ceiling said clang as his one salvo bounced off of it... then hit the cord that had been keeping it attached to the ceiling to begin with.

It dropped down and hit Let's Fire Wildly straight across the head.

Dante shoved Ivory back into her holster, jumped over another guy's gun and landed on his head.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy might question that ordering--but not hard, considering the bright smile she was still wearing as she leapt into the air to deliver a spin kick to a guy who was still groggily shaking his head. Then a handspring to wrap her legs around his shoulders and she was arching her body sharply to the side and dragging him down to the floor.

She bounced free at the last moment and looked around for whoever came next--only to see that everyone in her section was down, at least for the moment. Time to secure them to keep them out of the way while she and Dante went motorcycle shopping. She had zip ties in her bag, but not many, so she took a few moments to hunt down some makeshift bindings. Gee, if only a chop shop could be full of straps and chain and hosing--oh look! It was!

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante still took another second, as he snagged the last guy by the collar and threw him upwards. Since he'd technically still been in the air at the time, it meant the guy was slamming into the ceiling and then fell, abruptly, as he vacated Dante's gravity-bending field and segued back into regular physics.

Not that this mattered to Dante, whose feet touched back down on the ground gracefully a second later.

"Let me guess," he said, "Tie them up and call the cops?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Tie them up, find a bike, call the cops," Kathy corrected. Let's not forget why we were here, Dante.

A guy groaned, coming back around, and she casually elbowed him in the face. "I can handle the first if you'd like to take care of the second? Since I have no idea what you're looking for in a motorcycle."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Fast," Dante said helpfully, "And sexy."

He turned around and started poking around. Not like he was looking for things like 'easy handling', because seriously, he could take a motorcycle crash and walk, no problem.

... Don't ask him how he was so sure of that.

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"I'm right here, Dante," Kathy deadpanned. "I was asking what you were looking for in a bike."

Look, they'd started the evening by making out and then had moved onto kicking ass. Was it any wonder Kathy felt like teasing a little?

[rebelseekspizza]

"Don't get jealous, gorgeous," Dante called, smirking.

Mostly to himself. His eyes were set on the bikes.

... and then he stopped. "Holy shit."

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"Did you find something?" Kathy asked, using a discarded seatbelt and a length of rubber tubing to hogtie one of the guys that Dante had knocked down with a punch. She almost felt bad for doing that--it seemed like overkill after what he'd done to them.

Standing up, she walked over to where Dante was looking--and also stopped short. "Oh, wow," she breathed. "That is sexy."