2013.04.29 - Devil's Advocate

It's that time again. Board a plane, sleep, wake up, board a different plane, repeat. It's enough to make Domino want to hire her own mutant teleport travel agent. Hours of her life sitting around doing nothing but waiting, just to come back to this armpit of a country. It's been a long day, mercifully winding to an end at the nearest bar she can find, regardless of how much of a dive it might happen to be. If they serve drinks around the place then it's good enough for her, she barely even cares what the drink might happen to be.
The downside is that she always travels light while on commercial flights. She's got plenty of arms and armor across the globe, particularly around Madripoor as of late. She's just too wiped out to run around the city just to rearm so she can get hammered so she can go back to sleep. Thus, it's one of those rare moments when she's dressed casually, though still entirely in black, without a single gun or blade hiding anywhere upon her.
It's not like she's going to need them within the next hour or three, right? Besides, if she needs one she'll just take one from the person sitting closest to her.
Yet another dive, in Madripoor if you wanted upscale you had to leave behind that which was not upscale to proceed forward. Anastasia could pass, her company, on the other hand could not. Promises borne on arsenic laced honey, thoughts of failure were met with surprise. Pleasant, but still surprising. A handful of a small squad returned from a mission, bearing 'fruit' and jovial laughs as well as expectant gazes.
That brings us to this crumpling section of slum. Familiar black and red BDU's trickled in through the door, five men right off a drop plane still in tattered garb, some with patched wounds and nothing more to even clean them up. They wanted the promise, and patience of the men is a lacking thing when times are painfully slow. Jovial laughter as they flooded to a table and laid claim with screeching chair legs making space for hefty figures.
Like a shadow behind them Anastasia stands in the doorway, arms folded over her chest, peering at them like a predator on the prowl.
Soldiers? That alone seems odd to Domino, why would any military force have any interest in this place beyond turning it into a test bed for nuclear weapons? Then there's the coloration of their uniforms, taking matters one step further into the unusual. Black and -red.- Who did she know that flashed colors like that? Deadpool, but she'd know if he happened to be in the area. Kind of hard to misplace the guy. Who else, then?
The answer takes a while longer to step forward, continuing to evade her until she notices the lone woman now blocking the doorway. Tired eyes catch sight of her then drift downward and back to the table, the albino woman slowly palming the large black patch upon the left side of her face.
"Ah, hell. How's that for luck."
Exits are mentally mapped out in a hurry. Going through the back would be too obvious. The front's blocked. The windows tend to hurt. The best play for the moment is to stay put and act as nonchalant as possible. At least that option involves the continued consumption of booze. Silver linings!
"Booze and women!" A baritone bellows out, slamming down a large mug of that swill that is likely being served but with a glee that the dead come to life would have. Let them have it. The bartender is sending waitresses which one of her men readily lays hands on like her worth was only that of in his lap; her protests saying otherwise.
"Baroness! This one doesn't seem to be part of that gift!" He says, almost a child like pout on the mans cro-magnon and scarred features as he releases the woman and she goes scurrying towards the bar's head man who is glowering at her company.
One hand rises and presses to the bridge of her nose, massaging away the small pulse that should begin there in 5... 4... Heeled footfalls start forward, taking her towards the disgruntled 'manager', the dress of pitch swirling around legs, giving the peek of the red strapped sandals laced over calves though the splits rose even higher. At the hips red lacing binds it to her in a cinched form, only for two strips to sweep up and tie behind her neck. An elaborate and special-tailored sun dress perhaps, though along one strip a red cobras effigy winds upward, its maw open, eyes narrowed.. A resemblance as the Baroness smiles towards the boss, a few words exchanged, a large sum of money and that waitress is shoved back towards the man as well as his other two.
"That's three, need two more women..." And here, anything can be bought... Frigid gaze sweeps over the bars occupants...
...3...2... Stopping on Domino...1.
There's another woman here who is in the process of massaging her forehead, the feeling that things are only going to go further downhill from here having taken root. A bunch of rowdy guys getting their stupor on she can handle. If there had been even the smallest bit of doubt as to the identity of the other black-haired woman before, it vanishes the instant she spots the familiar red snake logo. It's like the plot of a bad movie, out of all of the bars in all of the world tonight she had to go and walk into -this- one.
Domino's way too tired for this mess. From around the cover of her hand she's checking out the other patrons on the sly. Scruffy at her four o'clock has a .357 at his hip, not well guarded. Judging by the heavy look in his eyelids he's already saturated his system with alcohol. Hunched forward on the table, sitting alone, lost in his own thoughts. Excellent odds, though it does come with one notable setback. She's just been made by the Baroness.
Eye contact is made, held. A thin smile is forced upon blackened lips, the hand at her forehead drifting away slightly to pass a lazy salute toward the terrorist.
"Nice weather we're having, huh?"
It could have been passed off, her gaze could have kept moving, but Ana was seeking women to occupy laps and when a woman came into sight it was as simple as pulling money free - when Domino's features came into sight, it was a simple as running a hand to an exposed thigh and pulling free something that would slowly paint the bar red. A single kunai is palmed, but no other move is made save the hand bearing the money.
Now the 'boss' is looking particularly nervous. Another militia, another fight showing by all intents and actions, and even her men went silent, a woman squealing only to have a meaty palm cupped over her mouth for silence. Everyone is ready to move, all based on the revolution around the two women who remained that same distance apart.
Heartbeats a mimicry of thunder rolling in, pulsing in her ears as finally that money is held up betwixt fingers towards the boss. "Two more women, and it's yours." Ana states without passing another look his way, now taking those few steps to close the gap between herself and Domino, a serpentine weave between tables and chairs with a steady pace. "No, its fucking misery." ..But it loves company, wanted or not.
Alright, this could have gone a lot worse. Regardless, Domino's still waiting for things to go irreversably sideways. Women like these two, both are observant and neither hide particularly well. Past interactions are not all that far in the past. It's like it was just yesterday when she took a dip into the ocean and had saltwater all up in a collection of fresh bullet wounds.
The odds of surviving this encounter without a fight aren't easily calculated. They're notably worse with the soldiers, for the time being. So long as they keep getting their women and booze on that'll shift things back into Dom's favor. She always has been a fan of self-resolving problems.
"Could be worse. Could be storming something fierce. No one likes that, right?" The metaphor isn't hidden all that deep. Getting up and walking away isn't in the cards anymore, but talking? That could still be managed. Pity that her conversational skills tend to leave something to be desired.
"So what's a lady with power like yours want with this shithole country, anyway? These guys can't even export fish properly."
There are plenty of memories still rubbing /raw/ on both parties and it is evident in the look Ana bore down like crosshairs to the table that Domino is occupying.
One hand comes down, clamping onto the back of a chair just enough to spin it out at an angle so the view of the bar as well as her men could be had. Entry, exits, occupants... Her gaze leaves Domino only for a moment to calculate and take her seat, crossing one leg over the other and placing the kunai on upper-most thigh, a single hand resting over it like a mother would an infant's back while it slumbered.
"I don't know about that." Ana's accented vocals came forth, and now that the barkeep's waitresses were paid for and pre-occupied he came to their table awaiting drink orders. "Vodka. Not any of that bottom shelf swill either, nor watered down."
Now her full focus is back on Domino. "I wouldn't trust the meat here if I saw it before it was slaughtered, or during. Islands have their perks, especially already occupied and falling apart at the seams." She says making a waffling gesture in the air.
"Et tu?" The Baroness grins then, letting her eyes scan over Domino and lock into place on her own.
Domino doesn't need to see the blade to know that it's there. It's likely going to stay there for much of the conversation. Even doing nothing it only helps to remind the albino that she got careless, just for one moment of time, and didn't prepare herself for this environment. Time spent in New York is making her soft. Or worse, time spent in Westchester. Moments like this must be so much easier when one could fry someone with a glance or extend claws through their knuckles.
Having the chance for another order, she says "Let's rock the rum." Top shelf or bottom, at this point it doesn't matter all that much to her. Bigger concerns, and all.
"The outskirts are hurting, sure, but the core still has money to throw around. Whole place is like a rotting onion with a diamond core."
The question that follows, and that -stare-... Dom releases a long breath, getting one of those 'what can you do?' expressions. "Place is ripe for work. Work means money. Not complicated."
It's more complicated than that. She's also gotten roped into making sure that Roy doesn't get brutally murdered. Still a paying gig though, so her response stays true.
Eye contact is similarly held, trusting her conversation partner a lot less than the merc could throw her. "This place could slip right back into the ocean for all I care, I'll just pick up my toys and find another sandbox."
Baroness' lips just quirk up at one corner, an involuntary movement that came on par with Domino's ending statement. Once the drinks are delivered, Ana pays the man and makes a dismissive gesture to have him quickly leaving, even if there is more to order from Domino, save her drink that he had brought as well, Baroness wanted no ears nearby. Eyes were a give in by her men, even through their bordering-on-debauchery antics. The only woman they got to see regularly is Baroness, and she would assume break their hands off and feed them to the local strays then have them on her like that...
"Oh, I am aware of what the value of a lump of coal can bring, especially to the distitute." A single digit trails over the lip of the glass, a rhythm all its own in the way it approached each curve that it swept over.
"So many sandboxes, so many toys. Yet, people like us, we do not tend to share." Now her hand rises and fingers rub together. Ana is testing for something, even remotely as fingertips are brought to lips and hovered just beneath her nose. Finally she takes a sip and sets the glass back down silently. "Depends on the worth of the toy that makes the sandbox seem that much more spacious and inviting." Pause. "William is his name. Yes. Infatuating partner you have.." For now, she lets that statement linger..
Checking the glass first, huh? A faint sneer works its way onto Domino's expression in turn, almost like she's attempting to copy yours. "Worried someone here might go for the cheap shot?" Vodka, top-shelf, poisoned glass, har har.
"You're right, but we're still different in appreciable ways. Setting morality completely aside, you've made a name for yourself but you're not content to ride out that power, not when there's more to be claimed. You surround yourself in it. Expensive dress. A private military. Only the finest. I couldn't give a shit about any of that."
Normally she wouldn't test her glass, either. Knowing that Ana's got this place in her purse at least results in Dom giving her glass the ol' sediment check on the sly, all it takes is a momentary glance downward as though collecting her thoughts. Then she helps herself to a drink.
"I'd imagine that you would feel similarly where Will is concerned. There's no power to be gained with that guy." Unless someone wanted to get through to Dom. Or Contact. There's some legit concern running through her mind, concern which she does a fantastic job of keeping hidden away. The serpentine nature that flows through the Baroness is unnerving all on its own, but knowing the brain that's behind it all? Dom can't rise to that challenge, 'William' needs to be downplayed. As soon as it's made obvious that he's important...
It's kinda like taking a shower in gasoline then jumping through a bonfire. Watch your step.
Ana's lean back is a casual repose in that chair, it may as well have been in her manor, plush, high-backed, and laid out across a bedecked 'spanse of finery. Even in waste she made it seem like home, like she owned it. Just like Domino owned her own candor.
One bare shoulder rises and falls in regards to Domino's words, that fall of pitch hair slipping down her back with the simple gesture - flesh there dimpled. Grecian dress, but things still stowed away. "There is where you and I are alike. I couldn't -give a shit- either. Vices can be plied again, and again when others have things they want, need, /care about/ - and you or I... Don't -give a shit-. That is what set's us apart." A single finger rises and falls on that remark. Trying to find common ground with the fellow mercenary, likely not, but she is trying to drive that nine-inch-nail home.
"Even the smallest being has power." That slow smile returns to rest lazily on lips, to match the recline she is lazing in. Domino is dangerous, just as much as William, though she does not /yet/ know the core of it all the surface has been touched, now she dares to -scratch-.. Dig.
"Now, are we oil and water, sulfur and chlorine? I do prefer the latter as long as it has its.. Plus side." And rules in her favor. Her head tilts slightly as she watched Domino, guaging and calculating.
Huh. Alright, so maybe Domino's aim was a little off there. Common ground, with a terrorist. Slightly unnerving. She at least lets it pass with a touch of grace, the gesture nothing more than a turn of an empty hand toward the other woman along with a dip of her own head. Hell, if she didn't want to be placed anywhere near people like this one she wouldn't be killing others for fun and profit. Moral lines don't really exist, everything's one big splotch of grey.
"Sure they do, though it's not of interest to everyone. Wile E. Coyote would have given his left nut for a proper shot at the Roadrunner but he wouldn't give a damn about Bugs Bunny."
What the hell was that, Domino? God, you -must- be tired.
"I'm not so sure these lines are so easily defined," she starts in while oh so carefully setting her glass back on the heavily scarred tabletop. "I don't know what it is that you're after beyond your own powertrip. Thing is, I don't really have anything against you. We seem to have a habit of stepping on each other's toes but that's never been my intention. If I wanted to pick a fight I wouldn't be so underhanded about it. There might well be some serious explosions when we're brought into the same room but they don't have to be aimed at either of us when they're set off."
Play both sides, of which there's an attachment to neither. Get -paid- by both sides. Know what's happening on either end of the fence so she knows when to get the hell outta Dodge well in advance. She'd be a fucking lunatic if she didn't happen to be so fortunate in making ends meet.
A small sniff of laughter comes on an exhale from Baroness at Domino's own equation of -worth-. "In either scenario I'll be there when the anvil drops, Domino."
Let that name bear the bass of a thunderclap, a single finger resting on the rim of her own glass, the tip of her nail tapping down with a *tink* to the edge.
"What it boils down to, is if recovery can be had, afforded. My business is my own, but to cut through the bullshit I would rather mix out of necessity. This small hell-hole is just that. Small. I am willing to share my toys only if you stay out of the way of them from here on out. If we must mix, I would prefer it be invisible to the watchful eye, but deadly and efficient.." Like that aforementioned mustard gas.
Point made, bait laid... "William does know of fine mango drink vendors, I should ask him to show me more." Baroness states on a sigh, almost whistful, dreamy sounding if it was not for the flash of teeth borne on the smile.
There's the kicker. Of course this woman would want the chance to talk to Domino rather than have her men start shooting the instant eye contact was made. She had an ace this whole time. -William.- That careless, wreckless, -senseless- son of a bitch. Ana already got through to him, and now she's gotten through to the merc by proxy. The threat couldn't be made any more clear. Mister Jinx did what he does best in Dom's absence.
She's gonna kill that idiot if Ana didn't beat her to it.
"And I would prefer that we keep any of our differences between us without attempting to throw the village idiots into the mix," she replies in a tone that holds more of an edge than before. "But, we can't always get what we want, can we."
Cripes, sometimes she just has to go and do something wreckless and impulsive in order to win the game in the end.
"There's an easier way out of this, Baroness. I know that you're seeking fresh talent to help your cause and it would seem that you're familiar with my reputation, so. Throw down some money, lay out some objectives, and we can keep this between us on a somewhat more professional level." Before Ana happens to kill good old Will in his sleep because Dom went and scorned her again.
Best keep this one from getting back to Belikova.
"I love the village idiots, they dance so well." Perhaps with bullets as a catalyst. Let the imagination do the rest. Plucking her glass up Baroness downs the contents, letting it fall back to the fissured table in a gesture that looked as if it was a finalizing slam to a drinking game they were (not) having. But silence came.
"I have plenty of talent, yes I want more, yes it costs me in the end.." She states as she gestures to the men, only two remain, still palming the women at their sides as they show off using eachother in games of brawn and might to strut like the right-old 'cocks' they are. The other three are gone, likely claiming that prize they had been neglected from for god-knows how long.
"Question is, how far are you willing to go for my dollar, and how far will you stay out of my way when the time comes?" Oh she would be discussing this with Taskmaster before anything is sealed and delivered, finalized.
"I know how to get to the heart, the easiest path is through the ribcage." No tone, no flux, just apathetic monotone to match the mask seated so nicely upon features as she keeps watch on Domino, knowing things can change very quickly, and not in her favor, but for once Baroness has her chance to -push- and she /is/.
"Yeah, but they can be a real mess to clean up after," Domino adds while hiding the building anger. William really is at the center of all of this. What keeps bringing her back to this part of the world. What keeps her from leaving. If it isn't one thing it's twenty-six others.
"'Talent' like those chuckleheads that were getting busy with a couple of waitresses that you had to pay off? No wonder you're doing so well for yourself." Damnit, she's on the defensive already. She does -not- like being on the defensive.
"Questions like those aren't easily answered. I don't target kids, but if you've got the bug up your ass to nuke this whole country off the face of the planet then give me the call and I'll be gone by the hour. I'm after opportunity. Even better if it involves excitement. Times being against you have had both in spades. It's up to you if you'd care to profit from these little moments that we share or if you'd rather we continue targeting one another. For the right price the Bloody Sun would still be open for business."
Maybe she doesn't have any key items to hold over Ana's head but Dom can keep making her life miserable through repetition.
"Your limitations are noted." The way the Baroness stated that was not friendly, something was there underneath the simplistic mannerisms of closing a business deal. The bubbling anger from Domino only has a light 'tsk' coming from pursing lips. "But you see, those knuckleheads know I would give them their hearts desire if I can. Those knuckleheads know my resume, also they know and believe in what my goals are and as long as they have their hearts desire... Kids or not, they are by my side and loyal. Maybe I should ask you. What is your hearts desire Domino? You know I have power, you have made it blantantly apparent you don't -give a shit-. But what if that could benefit you? What if for once, you could do what you love, have your money, your toys, and your own sandbox.."
Pushing to a stand Baroness glances back as the last man disappears with his prize pitched over his shoulder and giggling.
"The Bloody Sun has set. I've moved on and my target is set elsewhere. I'd prefer you not be in the my crosshairs again, and I think we should all get together to discuss this further... Soon. Leave me a message at the Black Lagoon, I will have my man relay it when he sees it." She has someone there? Where doesn't she?
"I'm happy that you find it so easy to surround yourself with such blind loyalty," Domino says with plenty of sarcasm. She's fighting a losing battle here, with a catch. The next question which comes her way. What the hell -does- she desire? Has she ever fought toward any one end result, any goal at all beyond something obvious and immediate?
The answer depresses her more than it should. There is no end goal, because she lives for the moment. She lives for -this.- The woman sitting at her table, she's capable of raising serious amounts of hell. Despite her reputation, it's that barely veiled promise which still manages to draw her in. That, and trying to fall under her employ is a twisted defense mechanism. Crazy as it sounds, for Dom the pro's outweigh the con's here.
The last of the guys to depart is followed by a tired glance, the albino finishing her drink. It took longer than usual but she's had a lot on her mind.
Apparently the Black Lagoon has been completely compromised. Who -hasn't- infiltrated that place by now? "Yeah, with any luck we won't be butting heads when we meet again."
Crazy. Risky. Stupid. Suicidally dangerous. It's everything that her heart desires.
"Their blind loyalty has eyes. Mine, that's all they need. You, on the other hand, or my associate that you have seen. Not-so-blind. But, negotiations can be made, things can be done that make everyone happy in the end." Baroness states smoothly as she moves around the chair she had been seated in, moving closer to Domino and openly showing the kunai being stowed back away on the thigh strap.
Leaning down she is a mere breath from Domino's profile, whispering over her left shoulder like the devil's playground had been overrun and replaced. The throne - burned. "You look tired. There is the Villa by the beachfront, I will call in a suite for you to recover in for the night if you so wish. If not it will stand empty, but for tongiht, it is yours. Sample what I have to offer for the night when it comes to luxury. When it comes to -our- line of work... You have already seen part. I am sure you can work out the rest."
Standing back upright Baroness moves for the exit, not baring another glance to Domino, just leaving it at that. "The room will be under your name."
"One can hope," Domino replies in a tone which starts to show the reality of how out of it she is. Things are still neutral, at least. No violence between these ladies today.
Being enticed by a nice Villa seems really shallow, almost criminal when it's being offered from one like Ana, though what's the difference between nice things and straight-up cash? Dom has money, she continues to acquire more, and she does virtually nothing with it. Is it so wrong to enjoy some refinement in life once in a while? Then there's the issue of taking her up on that offer, spending the night within the clutches of this powerhouse. How many more ways could one possibly spell out 'trap?'
On the other edge of the proverbial blade, taking Ana up on the offer would be a show of wanting to move further with this future business arrangement. Either Dom commits now or she drops the whole thing and keeps having a potential enemy with global power on her hands. High stakes, as usual.
Of course she's going to do it.
Tonight, she stays at the Villa. Looks like 'Luisa Mendoza' is going to get a little more time in the spotlight.
Category:Log