Baltimore to 33 Apocalypse, Laaaaaate Thursday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was half-inside the cooler when it happened, appreciating the blast of cold air on her skin while she debated whether she should get a Coke for the road or stick to water. The tiny convenience store had been surprisingly busy when she'd stopped to gas up her bike and grab a snack; her EMT course didn't get out until after midnight and yet she'd passed two kids with skateboards on her way to the back and the door had jingled again just a moment ago.

Still, even knowing this was a less-than-great neighborhood, she was still surprised when she heard a muffled, "Stick 'em up!" coming from the front by the register. Easing the freezer door closed, she peeked around one of the aisles and saw a masked man holding a shotgun at the terrified clerk. The two teens also remained frozen in place, one of them in the process of shoving a bag of chips into her bag and now too afraid to move.

This was entirely under the heading of heroics she'd sworn to give up, but the masked guy sounded jittery; his hands were shaking and his voice was over-loud. She wasn't sure if he was on something specific or it was just nerves, but this was the kind of thing that had the potential to get bad, fast. "Who's motorcycle is that outside?" the burglar demanded, waving his shotgun around. "Where are they? Bathroom? What!"

Well...shit.

The teller tried to stammer out an answer, but between his accent and the fear, he wasn't really getting anything coherent out. The burglar looked like he didn't have a lot of patience to try to figure it out, either, leveling his gun on the cowering man. On catlike feet, Kathy eased her way over to where the teens were, silently grabbing one of the skateboards and motioning them back the way she'd come, a finger over her lips to remind them to stay quiet. She had a half-baked idea and a skateboard; the last thing she wanted was to put anyone else in the line of fire if this didn't work.

Once the kids had slipped away, Kathy breathed a prayer, set the skateboard on the ground, and sent it slamming into the front counter immediately to the left of the burglar. He whirled in that direction, gun blasting the poor board in half, and Kathy launched herself at him, tackling him from behind. She hit him with enough speed to knock him to the ground, the gun spinning out of his hands and across the floor. She followed that up with a sharp kick to his ribs and pushing an endcap full of snacks and toys over him. The kids took that moment to make a break for it, the girl stomping on the guy's questing hand on their way out the door. Her friend kicked the shotgun over to Kathy before disappearing into the night.

Kathy snatched up the gun and passed it over the counter to the teller, who clutched at it like a security blanket, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. "Don't look at me!" she snapped, kicking the guy again since he didn't seem to understand the concept of staying down, "call the cops!"

She very, very much would have preferred to bail like the kids had, but she was worried about what would happen if she left the cashier alone with the guy. Even with the shotgun, he seemed shaken and afraid, so she stayed until the police arrived--which then meant giving a statement and going to the station and also getting fingerprinted since she'd touched the stupid gun with bare hands.

Ugh. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Amateur move. If she'd been thinking like Banzai, she wouldn't have made such a dumb mistake. She also would have been carrying zip ties to keep the burglar immobilized and could have bailed long before fingerprints were a problem.

And she never did get her drink, dammit.

It was a lot later than normal when she finally got home, her fingers still smudged with fingerprinting ink. She let herself in as quietly as she could, planning on heading into the kitchen to make some tea. She was exhausted, yeah, but she had a lot to think about.

[Establishy, but up for housemates if they're awake for some reason? Based on this video, which might be fake but is still pretty awesome]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

There was a reason Dante never liked to sleep in the middle of the bed these days: it was easier to pretend you slept through the night if you could sneak out of bed without anyone noticing.

He'd sat down on the sofa about half an hour ago, bottle of strawberry vodka at the ready. His glass was half empty, and his expression a frown.

At least, it became one when the door opened.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy eased the door closed, locking it behind her with a little click, and looking towards the stairs to see if there was any noise from above. When she was satisfied that no one had heard her, she turned towards the living room to head towards the kitchen.

A cup of tea to brood, a shower to get the last of the ink off, and then she could creep to bed with no one the--

"Jesus fuck!" she gasped, only then noticing Dante on the couch.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Where the hell did you come from?" Dante asked, his frown growing.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Baltimore," Kathy said, hand over her racing heart. "Why aren't you asleep?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Just woke up and wanted a snack," Dante said, poking at a small bowl of chips with his foot. "Didn't know you were going to a party."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy snorted. Her evening had hardly been a party. Not that she was all that eager to get into what she'd really been up to. "That's me," she drawled, striking a pose, hands kept carefully curled to obscure the ink. "Party princess extraordinaire."

With no makeup, her hair pulled back into a loose braid, wearing an oversized t-shirt and leggings because today's class had involved a lot of firemen's carrying of fellow classmates.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante raised his eyebrows. "Okay," he said.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy sank down onto the couch, tipping her head back. She'd been tired before all the nonsense at the convenience store--again, a lot of fireman carries--and now she was even moreso. "Mind if I have some of this?" she asked, reaching for his drink.

It wasn't tea, but it would do.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Sure, I still got plenty," Dante said, nudging the drink into her hand.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Thanks," she said, and tipped the drink back, leaving dark smears on the side of the glass. "Never did get my goddamn water."

She drank about half of what was remaining in one go, then set it down.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Eh, they can't all be winners," Dante said.

He brought his cup up and took a big sip.

[spin_kick_snap]

"All that excitement about graduation, I bet," Kathy said, nodding Very Solemnly. "I know how you love pomp and circumstance."

Ba-dum tsh.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Oh yeah, I'm losing my shit about it," Dante said, snorting. "Kat's coming, though."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Don't worry, Dante," Kathy said, leaning over to pat his arm. "The stage fright will pass. You're not making a speech are you?"

She didn't think he was StuCo president and he probably wasn't going to be valedictorian, but who knew what woud happen? It was Fandom, after all.

"It'll be good to see her," she added. "Nice to actually get a chance to talk to her when I'm a little more...me."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, please. I look like I wanna get involved with that?" Dante said, snorting. He leaned back.

"Sure she'd be happy to talk to you, though."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Overjoyed, I'm sure," Kathy said, sounding wry. Or maybe just tired. "You should throw a party or something, here in the house. Kat, Ada, Isabela and Ez maybe. Celebrate graduation." She waved a hand. "You threw one for the graduates last year, didn't you?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"I did," Dante mused. "Maybe Saturday night. Think there's another party happening on Sunday."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Saturday works," Kathy said, shrugging. "Besides, your party's probably going to have more people who've already graduated attending than folks still at school."

She hadn't heard of any parties on Sunday, which likely meant it was something targeted at the students in the dorms.

"Your friends at the house, more than an open invite, maybe?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Works for me," Dante said.

He sank back into the sofa, glass in hand.

[spin_kick_snap]

And Kathy immediately leaned on him, just letting him carry her weight for a moment, feeling the whole night just settle on her.

She'd move over in a second, but she just--needed this.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante let out a soft sigh. He ran his fingers over her hair, gentle as he could. Didn't know what the hell was up with her, but she was asking.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy sighed and held up her hand in front of him, letting him see her inked fingertips.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Get involved with a bank robbery and didn't include me?" Dante joked gently.

He took her hand in his, working his fingers between hers.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I got tired of you being the rich one," Kathy said with a tired laugh. "No, I, umm...I stopped an armed robbery tonight while I getting gas and a soda."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante sighed. Again. This time for different reasons.

"Missing old habits?"