9927/Black Tie, Will Spy: Part One

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Black Tie, Will Spy: Part One
Date of Scene: 05 November 2019
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Cheetah, Darkness




Cheetah has posed:
Barbara-Ann Minerva sits in her posh penthouse suite at the Waldorf Hotel. She is dressed to the nines in a red ball gown and glittering jewelry. Her hair is meticulously styled; her make-up is flawless. Her scowl could strip paint.

"Luthor." The word hisses between her teeth like a pejorative slur. Naturally, she had been delighted when her sometimes-more-than-a-friend, Lex, had asked her to attend the 21st Century Club's annual ball at New York's Museum of Civilization. What's not the like? It was a chance to mix with her 'people': the elite of society -- actors, intellectuals, politicos, dignitaries - movers and shakers, one and all. Then the second shoe had dropped. This was no mere social occasion. She had a job to do.

Minerva was indebted to Luthor for reasons that were none of your damn business, and Lex was the sort of man who liked to collect. Barbara's social standing secured her an invite to the ball. No one would question her attendance. She was to attend the ball and, with the aid of one of Luthor's infernal devices, get close enough to the Japanese Ambassador to clone his phone. How gauche.

That wasn't even the worst of it. Lex had assigned her a chaperone. The nerve! Minerva had protested in her usual, restrained manner. (There may have been some screaming and possibly an attempted assault.) In impish reprisal, Lex had sent some gorilla to keep an eye on her. An actual gorilla. In a red beret. With a terrible French accent. Minerva was mortified. Berets were SO last season. The gorilla had been sent packing. Minerva had protested again (i.e. more screaming and hysterics). She had been instructed to wait for chaperone number two. So...here she is. Fuming.

Darkness has posed:
Jackie had some choice words when he recieved the communication from Light 1. Of course, he saved them for after the purposefully blurred hologram faded away... Really, a text would have worked just as well. A skinny little boy with an angry sneer delivered what appeared to be a wrist watch mere seconds after the room went dark. The young man was sent away...

That's when the Darklings began chattering and chittering.
~"They want to cover your pretty face, Boss."~
~"He's making you a babysitter, Boss."~
~"He's making you weak, Jackiiiieeeee..."~

Jackie Estacado scowled wordlessly. Trying on the device, he passed a goance at the instructions before turning the face dial. From a tall, statuesque young man with cold eyes and coal black hair to.. a California blonde, chubby and sunny. Withered Mexican grandfather. Gaunt junkie. On and on before he settles. Image inducers. They make his skin crawl. With a new face, Jackie takes a sealed envelope and one last drag off his cigarette before heeft for the ball. To pick up his target. Tsk, tsk. His partner. He chuckles to himself in the back of the limo as he wonders what the diference even is.

Arriving at the Waldorf, Jackie passes a hat sporting gorilla in the hall, the ape looking particularly worried. "Could have been worse, bud. Could have been the driver." A smug smirk and Jackie soon finds himself rapping the back of his knuckles against a hotel suite door.

Older now, or so he appears, Jackie Estacado wears the false form of a severe looking Eastern European. Blonde hair buzzed short. Eyes ice blue and distant. High cheekbones, sharp chin. Dressed to kill, the bespoke suit fits better than his false face. His distorted dimensions doing little to take away from the hand crafted charcoal black suit and copper tie. "Hey. Ape is gone. We still doing this thing?" He aske with a low, almost bored tone through the door.

Cheetah has posed:
The door to Minerva's suite (lucky number 1313) swings in. Barbara, statuesque and crimson clad, stands just behind the threshold. Glowering. Her green eyes rake Jackie up and down. Is it too late to get the gorilla back? Her pillow-like lips make a half-assed attempt to restrain a sneer. They are almost successful. Almost. "Can you dance?" The words grind out with only slightly less venom than was reserved for Mr. Luthor a short time ago.

Darkness has posed:
The door opening with an ominous creak, Jackie lifts a now platinum blonde eyebrow as the room is revealed in slow, agonizing detail... and then there's Cheetah. He lifts that narrow, golden stubbled chin in imperious defense against a heated glower. The corner of his mouth hooks into a smug, claw-worthy smirk. "Better than you can wait patiently." He retorts brazenly. Lifting a palm, he flattens it to the door and pushes it wide. Nobody behind it, satisfied... he offers his other hand. The glint of a silver watch peeks from under a black sleeve. "C'mon. Let's get moving... unless you wanna waste that dress on house keeping."

Cheetah has posed:
Einstein posited two things were infinite: the universe and human stupidity. He missed Minerva's capacity for scowling. Jackie's hand on the door is tolerated but only just. The watch is noted, categorized, and appraised. At least he's got something going for him. Barbara withdraws to her room briefly to retrieve her coat. She storms past her escort and into the hallway. "Dolt." She storms toward the elevator leaving Jackie to secure the door.

Darkness has posed:
Confidence bordering on arrogance comes in direct conflict with... well, much the same. A moment of silence lingers as Minerva weighs the young, if gifted, Agent of The Light. He tilts his head to the left, a glance down the hall as the elevator opens and an older couple leaves it. A murder scene plays out in his head before Jackie brings his attention back to his partner for the evening. He chuckles under a breath that smells of menthol cigarettes and chewing gum. "Oh, we're gonna have -so- much fun. I can feel it." He says with sarcasm dripping from his low, mellow tone. Watching her stalk away, Jackie sucks his teeth. Shakes his head and shuts the door before rejoining her on the way to an empty elevator. "Let's make this easy. You don't want me here. I don't want to be here. Let's not kill eachother until later on, yeah?" Jackie asks while fishing a pack of smokes from his jacket pocket.

Cheetah has posed:
Minerva stalks into the vacant elevator, spins to face the doors, and folds her arms in icy silence. The slight tension at the corners of her eyes suggests she can hear Jackie speaking to her as he steps into the elevator. The silent drumming of her finely manicured fingers against her naked elbow suggests she is doing her best not to kill him. Until later. Progress!

The subtle scent of unlit tobacco reaches her. Barbara peers down at Jackie's smokes. After a beat she holds out a hand -- less a request and more of a demand. "The Viennese Two-step." Still waiting for her cigarette, Barbara's eyes return sniper-like to Jackie's head. "You know it?"