8443/Late Night at Josie's

Late Night at Josie's
Date of Scene:	22 July 2019
Location:	Josie's Bar, Clinton
Synopsis:	Brian gets carjacked, Spike gets into a drinking contest, and Kate makes a booty call
Cast of Characters:	Captain Britain, Hawkeye (Bishop), Spike

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Captain Britain has posed:
One of the problems with having a lavish, high end automobile was that people tended to value its parts, and Clinton, nicknamed Hell's Kitchen, was one of the rougher neighbourhoods of Manhattan. Having rung for a tow truck after his vehicle had been vandalised, he decided to step into the local bar. As late as it was, the tow truck would be some time as there were limited vehicles on the road for such calls.

Walking through the door to Josie's Bar, he immediately rubbed his fingers together, having touched some substance on the handle that was unfamiliar to him. "How quaint," he said, more to himself than anyone in particular. There was some live music playing, a little louder than he cared for, but the youngsters were out in force, dancing the night away.

Technically he was one of them, but he had always carried himself with greater maturity than his brethren. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a vial of hand sanitiser, cleaning the gunk from his hands that he had amassed from the door handle. Making his way towards the bar, he tried to signal the bartender's attention. So long as he was here, he might as well partake. He might not have been an attractive young girl, who often had the bartender's attention, but his sheer size afforded him some balance in that regard. Once he did lock eyes with the bartender, he asked, "a Stella please."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop is still sitting at the boothed table she was at earlier in the evening with Karen Page and Mary.. actually, she hadn't got Mary's last name. She'd eaten wings and nachos, plus a few cheesy fries, and when the other two had called it an evening, Kate had stayed behind nursing a beer and just enjoying the quiet of the late evening.

She knows all too well the dangers of Hell's Kitchen, especially if you have fancy clothes or an expensive car, but thankfully Kate had neither despite her illustrious background. But she darn well notices when someone of Biran's ilk walks in the door of a place like Josie's and looks like he's about to dust the bartop with his handkerchief, and his seat as well before sitting down.

She can't help but hide a smirk behind her beer.

Then again, he might well recognize the debutante behind the well worn clothing and that sparking smile.

Spike has posed:
The door opens again as a Billy Idol looking figure walks in, a slight sneer on his face. With a duster and boots firmly in place, Spike strides in and looks around the bar, rubbing hands together keenly. Vampires do not make for good subway passengers.

And given Spike's got no car, right now, he's had to take the skytrain out of Gotham and switch to a subway to get over here, then walk in here. Unlike anyone else, Spike's not got hand sanitizer, or a any sort of gentlemanly things about him. If parts are missing from cars, Spike might just have had a hand in them or heard about it. Criminals network.

Striding to the bar, waiting to order a beer, Spike stands there and casts his gaze around the bar. Truthfully he likes Hell's Kitchen. Clinton. Whatever it's called these days.

"And don't forget the snacks" Spike says, his lower class London accent on display, the awright guvnor type. Just....with a lot more expletives

Captain Britain has posed:
Paying for his drink with a fifty, Brian was perturbed by the change he received for a single bottle of Stella Artois, but he had come to accept these colonials strange fascination with tipping, and the maths of the average bartender. He was quite certain that the bartender knew exactly what he was doing, but in his defence, he had plausible deniability. Before Brian could protest, the man was already on to the next two orders.

Turning from the bar, he took a swig of the bottle. It was colder than he had desired, far too cold. Shaking his head, he would never understand why they insisted upon serving alcohol below the proper temperature. Each one had an optimal temperature, why was this so difficult for them to understand?

And then he spotted something vaguely familiar. Although he didn't know her personally, being the heiress to a wealthy publisher, well, dear old dad got to decide what was, and what was not, newsworthy. He made his way through the throng of people, not pushing, but people did have a habit of making way for him.

As he drew closer, he introduced himself, "hello, my name is Brian Braddock. This must be quite the club if the heir to Bishop Publishing is enjoying it. I would not have thought that so."

Turning his head for the moment to the Billy Idol lookalike, "so much for the neighourhood, such as it was."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate is all amused, watching Brian approach her and everything, until he gets up to her and drops that bombshell about her parentage. The smile drops away into the plastic facade of her people, only this one comes without a smile. "Did he send you here? Seriously. He has to stop trying things like this. If I wanted to marryone of ours I'd be drinking this beer back at the Country Club. Heck. I'd be drinking a champagne. And No, I am not looking for a date."

She shakes her head and looks all disappointed like. Sure, she was about to warn him off regardless - Kate has some very bad taste in men - but the thoughts that he's been sent to persuade her (or worse, seduce her back into hte fold) is just maddening. Maddening enough she doesn't introduce herself back.

Billy Idol over by the bar gets a bit of attention. He reminds her of John. Mostly the mouth - the words and accent, not the literal mouth. She bet John would like him. Heck, she bet John would take him home to bed.

Yeah, Kate's life was complicated.

Spike has posed:
Spike eyes the $50 with a laugh. "You give 'im a 50. I give 'im a $500. Keep the change" Spike says with a nod, tossing $500, in $100 bills to the bartender. It's a showy moment. But Spike's also got stolen money to get rid of. Then he spins on a heel, slugging from the bottle. It's Budweiser, sure, but $500 of Bud is still in Spike's words...

"This is horse piss" he exclaims, and he drinks enough to tell what's what. Then he spies the heir to Bishop Publishing and nearly drops the bottle. "Okay, I'm too sober for this. I walked into a bar with the heir of Bishop Publishing in here and some other guy" Spike says, arranging the $500 worth of...what thinks it is American alcohol on a tray.

Carrying it over, Spike slaps it down on a nearby table, "Mind if I join you?" Spike asks and finishes off his first bottle, watching both the others then the bartender. Then his eyes go back to the heir of Bishop Publishing. Looking closer, Spike is amused. "Oh bloody hell. Can I get an autograph or something?" he asks. Only half joking, too as Spike's so not expecting to meet up with Kate Bishop any time soon. Well that's off of his bucket list now.

Captain Britain has posed:
Brian gives her a series of looks as she speaks. He did not interrupt her, instead waiting for her to say her piece. His eyes fluttered from side to side, registering her views, but there were corrections that needed to be made. "I'm afraid there has been a bit of a miscommunication. I was not sent here by anymore save for an enterprising young person who was rather interested in my vehicle's wheels. I know not of this country club, though I could do with a glass of champagne, not that I am in an especially celebratory mood, but I'm sure we could come up with something. And as for courtship, I rather prefer to have a say in such matters. I recognise you because of your fame, nothing more."

Despite his size, Brian was far more of a low key socialite, eschewing the limelight in favour of his more famous brother and sister. It was an impressive feat for someone like Brian to drift into the background, but he had managed the feat nonetheless.

For now, Brian observes Spike. Unfortunately for the bottle blond, he was loudly taking issue with the 'King of Beers' in an American bar. A few less savoury people turned to regard him, looking very much like they would like to take him and any money he had. Flashing the cash didn't help. A rather large, not as tall as Brian, but wider, man in a leather vest followed Spike to the table and tapped him on the shoulder, "'scuse me blondie, but that's America's King yer talking about." He had friends. This could be interesting. Brian, who had yet to sit down, had a rather amused grin on his face.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
And then there were two of them at her table. Seemingly intent on outdoing one another. That 50? Then that series of 100's? Kate sort of stares between the two.

"Wait, you're both telling me that you're actually more aware of who my father is than who /I/ am?" Because that was pretty unique. It wasn't like she pranced around in her superhero costume as a regular thing, but that's usually how people knew her. They also generally did the 'you look familiar, do I know you?' thing without placing who she was. And here were not one, but two men pegging her for the heir to the Bishopthrone.

Spike gets a firm, "You I know are not Billy Idol. And nobody invited you to sit down."

Brian a, "I don't even know what to say to that, but I guess if you're not here because of my father, then yeah, I'm Kate Bishop."

And back to Spike. "My autograph?" Totally a head tilt moment, because who wants *Kate's* autograph?

Spike has posed:
With his 'borrowed' money spent, Spike's got a tray of Bud to drink. Oh boy he'l regret that later. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was some cheap crappy local brewed stuff. It's the King of Beers?" Spike says, actually....seeming sincere. "How about this. If I drink all these and stay standing,I get to talk shit about this drink. You guys get the same amount, drink and wee see who wins"

Sure, he couldnt directly hurt people due t ohis chip. But indirectly, not doing anything to stop them getting wasted? Sure! Besides, it kept them busy. And it kept Spike from getting punched and regretting it. He didn't have a patrol currently, He's here since he was out and about in Hell's Kitchen. If anything, redecorating his sub basement yet again in the Hugo Building was still fun. Getting the supplies back there wasn't.

"Ah I was joking, c'mon" Spike says nodding to Miss Bishop with a flash of a smile. "I'm William Pratty. You may have heard of me. Spike" he says with a nod. Good thing none of the Scoobies are here to witness this.

Captain Britain has posed:
It was impressive that the Billy Idol impersonator recognised Kate Bishop, but the man was annoyingly insightful and well versed on a variety of subjects. That he wanted her autograph also surprises Brian. He was eager to see how this played out.

When Spike suggests that he settle his issues with the patrons he had offended, Brian allows a small grin. A member of staff even heard, and called out, "all right, we've got a drinking contest here at Josie's. The rules are, you gotta drink every drop, and stay standing."

It would seem they were used to such things, as soon, more beers would be produced for the three patrons, who all had to pay for theirs. They looked positively dumbfounded, having gone from wanting to hurt the foreigner, to suddenly embroiled in a drinking contest.

When the waitress brought out a table on wheels, well, they were most definitely set up for these things. There was even a bell to ring. With people gathering round, Brian took the opportunity to slide into the booth with Kate, "interesting night," he asided to her in what would have been a whisper, if not for the noise.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate, meanwhile, has gone back to mostly amused. This drinking contest thing could be amusing. She still had no clue why This William Pratty guy - who she knew wasn't William Pratty - would want her autograph, but she knew better than to sign anything with her legal name. Then again, he was now busy with said drinking contest.

"You may as well sit down," she tells Brian pleasantly enough. "And I'm sorry about snapping at you. It's just my father thinks I shouldn't be slumming, as he puts it, and you are just like the sort of person he'd send thinking I'd somehow be swayed."

Come to think of it, Spike was also exactly the sort of person her father might send as well. Bad boy rich guy? Yeah, Kate could see her father thinking if all else failed that might get through to her.

Spike has posed:
Spike grins. "Now this is how we settle disputes where I'm from" Spike says. Crypt, sub, basement. London, Bloodhaven or Gotham. Disputes get settled the same way really.

Spike nods to the crowd. "Let's do this" he says. He's stackded the deck in his favor, being a vampire and all. He can, quite literally, drink every drop and win.

"So" Spike says looking over to Kate then Brian, lifting the first bottle. The first of $500 worth of bottles. Spike's not sure which is more interesting. The fact he got a bunch of patrons to drink themselves into passing the hell out. Or that they had $500 on them to pay.

Spike signs the receipt with his legal name. One William Pratt. That name and his looks are recognizeable, but when he adds Spike to the receipt....that's more recognizeable. By the time he's finished signing the paper, Spike is onto his second d bottle. He's drinking normally, not rushing it.

"So what brings us all here tonight?" Spike asks conversationally, watching everyone, eyes flicking back to Kate and Brian.

Captain Britain has posed:
When Brian slides into the booth, he places what's left of his drink, empty save for a small amount of liquid that always seems to reside in a bottle, on the counter and it seems encounter viscosity. Something had spilt on the countertop and never been properly cleaned, though he wasn't sure if it was from Kate, or a prior patron. Either way, as entertaining as Josie's Bar was, he was hesitant to make a repeat visit.

Spike might well be overpaying, but the others were fortunate enough to pay regular fees for a Budweiser. They weren't drunk enough, or foolish enough, to overpay to the extent that Spike was willing, though why they were allowing him to do it on credit was anyone's guess. Brian was wondering if this had been pre-planned in some way, a stunt to boost sales and a story for the customers to tell long after the night was over.