Gainful Employment, part 2 ((Attn: Ginnie / Invite Only))

Taken a bit aback at the darker side of Ginnie, Alec shrugged and replied

Fair enough...I've never had to coordinate such a project before, so I'll be learning the logistics of scaled operations as we go and be leaving the brain work to you since you've got more of them. As for making myself a liability...duly noted. If I ever discover I've done so, Nachton will never see me again and I'll be sure not to give you a trail. After all, vanishing is what I do best.

As for down time...there's always something to be done on a large project, whether it is double checking information, researching the hardware they are using for additional weaknesses, arranging for key site personnel to get horrid cases of food poisoning the night before or the day of the assault...always something I can be doing, so no twiddling necessary. Besides, I've already discovered Nachton's pinball arcade, and electrical issues aside, I could entertain myself there for as long as needed.

Smiling a bit, Alec continued.

So no worries, boss. As long as I have all of the information on what NOT to do, I'll never fuck up. And if you can't give me that list for whatever reason, well, remind me where the pinball tables are and I'll be all smiles and high scores...and it beats being told to shut up.

"Well, more things to add to that list. She's at one with her dark side, takes pride in her organizational skills, and likes things to go according to plan. Hm...the non-deviation will be the toughest part, but shouldn't be too much of an issue. As long as I can outlet my creativity in other ways while we wait around..." Blushing slightly, Alec sipped lightly at his wine.

I'll try to keep my improvisation to a minimum on the job to keep things flowing according to plan. That will likely be the more difficult portion of the teamwork for me, but as long as operational parameters are clear, I'll be well within them.

Ginnie let all of that stew in her mind for a moment. She liked this guy, he was funny, and knew what was good for him.

"I'll take that to the bank then, slick." She opened her own blue file, then turned, picked up another case and pulled her laptop from it. Giving it time to boot she moved over to the city model.

"Ok. Here's our first hit."She pressed her finger to the top of the building and it's little red light came on. She did this as she spoke.

"Then we will move to here, here, here, and here. At this point I have a summit meeting panned to meet here. We will then proceed to the second phase of the operation, at which time I will give you the shake down. Between the first hit and the second I have meetings here and here. Between two and three I have an assassination here and another meeting here. Between three and four I have an assassination here and here, then between four and five I have a meeting here and a shake down here.

Now hits three and four are repossession of my inventory from a certain cocksucking asshatted fucktard that thinks he owns the city."

Her laptop beeped at her and she tapped in her password, and a few taps later had the scematics of building one rotating on her screen.

"That large area there is where we're going. I am certain that is where they are keeping my shit. I want my shit back, but these are not people to steal it back from, they will need to give it freely or I'm screwed. Also, they have two dogs that roam around in there, always have. I need them distracted for the duration. Also make sure you hunt just prior to the hits, so that you are in top form. That about nutshells everything. Any questions?"

'I have one for you, but it my scare you.' She grinned at him and drained the remainder of her wine.

Blanching a bit, Alec watched the pattern form on the grid, mentally overlaying the probable police patrol pathings in the areas, which would be practically nonexistent in the industrial areas but pretty heavy near the summit locations.

Well, I certainly won't have any down time prepping that many locations for intrusion. For the meetings, what will you need me doing? I could arrange crime in a proximate district to pull any wandering cops off of your grid, but other than that, I can't think of any use I'd be there...will I be able to use that time to prep the next scenes, or will I be part of your cover team? Oh...duh. You've probably already timed things so that you'll be meeting in conjucntion with Tach-bribed cops. Sorry...still learning the operations portion.

Thinking hard for a moment, Alec took inventory, ticking items off in his head.

It looks like I have most everything I need if you're supplying firearms...um...this is a bit of an odd question, but do you happen to know the genders of the guard dogs and whether they are cut? It will affect what I'll want to carry in with me. Ah, and I was just thinking about hunting before I came in...I match the shirt a bit too closely.

"Let's see if I can answer all of that in order." She chuckled a bit

"You don't go to the meetings, I have to be seen as the boss that I am. Bring you with me would screw that. I take Mercs to those. Muscle is muscle and these dips understand nothing but. Thanks for the crime thing, but that won't be necessary. You can use the time to plan for the next hit. You and I will need to meet at least once a day and I need to be able to contact you mobilly if you don't have a cell phone, get one. Oh and uh...what cops? Honey, this city's police force is a joke. Even if one happened by they wouldn't stop. They're just for show mostly.


Let's see...I think the dogs are male, with all their bits and pieces. Makes them meaner, I'm told. At least they were male the last time I was there, and these particular guys aren't much for change. They hate having to answer to a woman, so I doubt their dogs are female."


Ginnie thought he looked great in white with his skin that pale. She wouldn't mind getting her hands on the rest of that skin either. 'Good god Ginnie, knock it off you sound like some horny teenager.'

Whew...glad I miss the meetings. I'd probably ask the wrong goombah to waltz and step on his toes when someone shot their gun in the air in celebration of our stunning beauty on the dance floor. The time will be more safely spent planning exciting new crime.

Smirking a devilish grin, Alec shined his pearlies as widely as he could.

I figured, but I just like to confirm. I'll make sure to have some "Lassie" on hand for our work, then. Most folk do keep their attack guards male and uncut...and it makes them susceptible to a contact sprayer or vial of the pheromones excreted by bitches while in heat. In high enough concentration, it makes them go nuts, forget their training, attack each other and pounce whatever is coated with the scent...like the poor, confused guard that steps on it or gets pegged with it. Great for a distraction, that's for sure.

Ginnie couldn't help but laugh. She let her deep belly laugh carry through her apartment. Her hand went across her stomach and her other hand supported her on the table. When she was able to right herself and take a full breath she glanced up at the clock. It was closer to dawn than she had thought it would be, which meant hunting was out until tomorrow. She'd fed yesterday so would be fine. She knew she could go a full week between feedings, but it wasn't a pleasant thing to do.

"Well, slick, the candle's magic is almost spent and dawn approaches. You have any plans or would you like to stay and watch a movie with me or something?"

Alec considered a moment. "Hm...work or play? Ginnie doesn't strike me as someone who would make an invite if she thought I needed to get that reading done tonight, but I've also made some pretty big misses judgement call-wise so far. Well, we'll let fate decide." Reaching into his pocket, Alec realized that a coin was something he didn't have with him. Improvising, he said

That depends...is this a trap to keep me from work and make me look bad to my new boss, or an invitation by the new boss to get to know her employee better, or an invite from Ginnie to hang out for awhile?

He was also a little goofy. Yup, she liked him, no doubt.

"I'll take door number three, Alex."

She left the laptop and city model blinking and walked over to her entertainment center and pulled DVD cases off of the tv.

"I just bought Lords of Dog Town, The Interpreter and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

She turned through them as she spoke. "Or we can pop a big bowl of popcorn and have an 80's B-movie marathon. I have a lot of those. I'm a bit of a movie buff."

At this her cheeks pinked with a blush she couldn't control.

In that case, I'd be happy to stay.

Frowning a bit toward the collection, Alec stated

Well, crap. I don't know which of those 80's movies I've seen and which ones I haven't...

Reaching down, Alec started glancing at the cover pictures.

My god...look at the hair on her. Ah...this one looks pretty safe...Ferris Bueller's Day Off...oh, hey! This one has the guy from K-19 in it, but way younger...Indiana Jones any good?

Standing up, Alec brandished a dvd case bearing an image of a young Alexei Vostrakov on the cover, but dressed in khakis and brandishing a whip, a cheesy grin and a hat that had seen better days.

((OOC: It hurts my soul to call Harrison Ford the guy from K-19, but...))

"Oh my yes. Nothing like danger, romance, and snakes. I'll go get the popcorn started!"

Ginnie took her wine glass to the kitchen with her and gave it a quick rinse, before setting it in the top rack of the dishwasher. She then pulled out a very large green bowl with little kernels of popcorn all over it, and an air-popper. She put in kernels, oil, and salt, stuck the bowl under the nozzle and headed back out into the living room.

She took Raiders of the Lost Ark from Alec and lipped it into the player, and turned on the tv. Picking up the universal remote, she curled onto the couch and patted the seat.

"Come on, sit. I don't bite...often." She giggled at her own joke and pushed the play button.


"I'll get the popcorn when it's done."


((ooc we all have our weaknesses *snerk*))

Followind suit, Alec bussed his glass to the kitchen and rinsed it before setting it into the washer rack next to its twin. Pausing by the air popper, he watched for a moment.

I guess you do take your popcorn pretty seriously. This is like a miniature of the rigs they use in theaters, isn't it? I've never seen one before.

Watching the air popper go through its motions a little more, he looked up when Ginnie said


Smirking a bit, Alec hopped the couch and landed next to her.

It is a wonder either of us can keep our blood up to get anything done at all then with my forgetting to eat and your bite avoidance issues. I wonder what Mister Simon would have to say about his aenemic little team.

Scootching his but around, Alec found a comfortable level of slouch and ground himself in for a good solid stint of movie watching. Reaching up to his neck, he unfastened his bolo and slipped it into his pocket. Unbuttoning his fitted button up, he ground himself into the couch one last time and let out a contented sigh.

There we go. Much better. Oh, one more step.

Popping off his shoes, Alec slid them with one foot so that they were right next to the couch and not a trip hazard. Thinking again, he turned out his pockets and dropped the contents into his shoes. Leaning back, he lifted his legs and wiggled his toes inside his brand new socks.

Ok. There we go. Ready for the long haul!

Ginnie laughed as his antics as the popcorn maker started it's merry cadence. She hit play when the menu screen came up and resisted the urge to snuggle against the now comfortable man on her couch.

As Indie took the idol from its alter the popcorn finished. She uncurled from the sofa and returned to the kitchen. She pulled two Cokes out of the fridge and poured them into glasses, then returned to the living room with them and the popcorn.

She set the bowl on the couch then the two glasses on coasters on the coffee table in front of them. Using sharing the popcorn as an excuse, she sat just a little bit closer to Alec. Pulling her legs up indian-style, she set the bowl in her lap.

"What do you think so far?"

Considering, Alec wondered what he'd have done in the same situation if he were still alive.

Hm...well, if I were Indiana Jones, I'd have started by not bringing anyone with me...I'd have finished the research and headed in solo, with a team set for extraction. I'd also wash my clothes more often, but I figure he's doing pretty damn well for the time period. Oh, and I'd have burned out all of those damn spiders before going through. The switch he did was pretty smooth for the technology he has access to - I approve of his improvisation...too bad it worked out like our dance.

Chuckling, he continued while taking his beverage.

This guy was a pretty good actor when he was young. Ah, thank you. I guess K-19 wasn't the peak of his career, so that's good. The story is fun, too, and he seems to fit the character. Has he done anything else of note?

Looking back as the guide takes off with the idol, Alec chokes.

Oh, and I'd be feeding that jackass to those damn spiders....um...that I missed when I set their friends on fire. Yeah. Oh, or spear to the face works, too. Nice!

Ginnie chuckled at him, and put a couple of pieces of popcorn in her mouth mulling over harrison Ford's career.

"Gosh yes, you don't see many movies, huh?"
She washed down her popcorn with a drink of soda. "He made three of these movies,before that he did a little known series called Star Wars. Let's see he was in Working Girl, and Regarding Henry, Patriot Games, The Fugative, What lies Beneath, Air Force One, Clear and Present Danger...um...oh! Blade runner, and American Graffiti. I'm sure there were more, but I've not seen them."

Frowning a bit, Alec responded.

Star Wars? I saw that third one...that was pretty messed up. Saw parts of the second one, too...was he just in the first? I don't remember seeing any of those other ones, though. Heh, though I guess I could have seen them all and I wouldn't know it.

Wondering about the oddities of his own mind, he glanced up to see Belloq. Nudging Ginnie with an elbow, he gestured to the screen.

Ah, and now the inclusion of a well dressed French thief. This movie gets better and better!

"No, not that drivel they released the last few years, the original Star Wars. Episodes four, five and six. He played Han Solo."

Ginnie looked back up at the screen and grinned. She loved this part.
"Yes, yes it does."

She wondered if he'd flip if she put her hand on his thigh, she could make it look natural, well at least she thought she could. "Natural like yawning to put your arm around someone looks natural."

Frowning again, he looked at her.

Wait...so they made them out of order? That's pretty bizarre...was there a reason, or just pure whimsy?

Alec pulled off his gloves and tossed them down on his shoes. Reaching for some popcorn, Alec brushed his arm a bit against her shoulder. "Huh...that was odd. I totally didn't need or mean to do that." Mentally shrugging, he grabbed a couple of kernels and popped them in his mouth.

Whoa...this is way better than the popcorn in theaters. What did you put in it?

"My theory is that the last three were the better for the audience and technology of the time, but I don't know the real reason."

She pretended not to notice the brush of his arm and hoped he'd do it again. "God, I feel like a teenager and her first boyfriend. C'mon Ginnie, what's the matter with you. This just isn't your style. See it, like it, take it. That's you. What the fuck is up with this gee, golly I hope he touches me again, shit?" Yeah, she'd have to do something soon, she just didn't want to scare the poor guy.

"Oh, thanks. Nothing special, just an oil combination, I experimented with until it was perfect and a blend of several different salts, with a touch of butter flavoring."

Huh...fair enough. Maybe we can check those out another night, then.

Taking a bit more of the popcorn, Alec smirked.

It certainly sounds like you dig your popcorn and movies. Well, here's to hoping for plenty of trips to Ginnie's Theater.

"Geez, man...that was pretty cheesy. Now she's rolling her eyes internally and thinking, 'not in this lifetime, slick.' At least she doesn't seemed bothered by me not blinking."

"The Theater is open three hundred and sixty five days a year and closes only eight hours a day so that the owner can sleep. You're welcome anytime."

She put popcorn in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. Very casually she leaned toward Alec, resting her shoulder against his. When she spoke, her voice was low and full of exactly what was in her mind.

"Blink, slick."