2013.08.25 - Tunnel Rats

There's a lot of people in Metropolis. Millions of 'em. It takes all kinds, even the mutants and metas. Because of this it can be next to impossible to tell when just one person happens to end up missing. There's a billion different places to look and nearly as many different reasons for them to have disappeared in the first place. Most people wouldn't want to do the legwork looking for someone that's gone missing, especially if other people wanted them dead.

Most people are not Domino.

This part of the subway line hadn't been used in some time. Modern day electronics, switches, and operator lights simply don't exist. The railways have been left in a state of perpetual decay. The only reason why there isn't more than a few inches of standing water in the occasional oily, overgrown puddle are the rest of the pumps tirelessly working to keep the arteries beneath the city from flooding.

Normally there would be little more than rats down here. Today there's also woman, as white-skinned as a mouse, stepping along the raised but narrow ledge lining the old tracks with a single flashlight guiding her along, right up until she finds the missing person she had been hunting down.

He's very much dead.

"Damn," the albino mutters while crouching down next to the corpse, idly pushing a rat away with the barrel of her sidearm.

There's another presence in the abandoned section of the subway system, as another flashlight in the distance will soon alert Domino. It's advance is quite lesuirely, so it can't be someone chasing her, unless it's someone quite sure of themselves. But the closer it approaches, Domino could hear what may be a familiar voice of a teenaged girl, singing to herself, "be cool, motherfucker, be cool...life is meant to be awesome," when she gets even closer it's clear she's not wary of any oncoming trains, knowing this section is long since defunct.

She's balancing herself on the track itself, advancing slowly with her arms spread apart as she sings out loud, not imagining anyone might hear her in here. She never runs into other people, aside from a rare encounter with a homeless seeking shelter from the weather.

Another interesting fact is that Kiden's face is not aimed forward, but rather looking down at the track as if in search of some kind of marking which after several steps she likely reaches, her flashlight turns to the side, and then she hops off the track and moves to kneel along the edge of the raised platform, taking out what looks like a switch blade as she works at the side of the platform while singing with enthusiasm.

Whistling. Down here. It's only natural that Dom's attention would be diverted by such a thing, the light from her weapon disappearing in an instant until the darkness surrounding her is absolute. Nothing more than herself, a smelly dead guy, and the rat that's perching on the toe of her boot with a quizzical squeak.

The soft T-clik of a hammer being primed seems to be all it needs to hear to scurry on by, going back to sniffing the lost body.

She knew that voice, didn't she..? Her street informant. They may have fallen out of touch but she did have useful intel that one time. She's careful to step over the body (and avoid stepping on any tails) while edging closer, noting the distraction from that other source of light. A hidden stash, is it? Oy, misguided youth for you...

"Sure hope you didn't pay for that with the money I gave you."

The odds of Kiden not being in a position to turn around and shoot her are definitely within the merc's favor. Getting a flashlight in the face, that much she's expecting to happen. She'll even let it happen without protest.

"At least your intel's better than your digs."

"Bingo! Ha! Ha! Kiden Nixon, you're a pro!" Kiden congratulates herself when she finds all of her smiley faced pills are still there, clearly kept safe from random bypassers or accidental flushes of water. Just as she reaches to take one, she hears Domino's voice and immediately slips a few pills into her pocket, rummaging about, trying to push the rest of her stash back in place and put the cover in place. But then Domino is already asking if she paid for that with the money Kiden got from her, causing Kiden to cringe, as without even thinking she turns to look at Domino, pointing her flashlight directly to her face, just as the mercenary expected. Anything to keep her hidden stash a little more hidden, even if it's unlikely. Nervously, she answers, "no, of course not, why would I do that?"

She does, however, put a very wide and somewhat fake smile on her face, so perhaps she knows how totally unbelievable is her claim. "Aw, come on! This place rocks, nobody ever comes here...well...asides from you," she then notes the corpsey smell in the air, and quips, "and some gangsta trash..."

Sigh! Well, Dom's one of the last people to try and tell someone else how to live out their own life. When she crouches along the edge of the platform to get a little more eye to eye with Kiden she makes no effort to hide the impressively sized matte black ten millimeter pistol now idly resting atop of an armored black knee. How's that for being a good influence?

"Looks like you're lucky on two counts tonight, kiddo. I'm not a Narc. You've probably been yelled at more than enough for that little vice of yours, anyway." Glancing back toward the body, complete with a motion of the bulky sidearm in his direction, she looks back to the girl with her head canted a few degrees off-center. "Don't suppose you know anything about my buddy over there? Beyond the obvious corpsification he's got going for him these days."

(Heck, she's part of the info network. Can't hurt to do a little leaning.)

"Wow..." Kiden remarks as she gets a glimpse of the weapon Domino is carrying, she may be no weapons expert, but being around gangs and such, she's seen her share of guns and what they can do. She knows enough to realize Domino can do serious damage, "you're all set for a spontaneous gang fight, aren't you?" Kiden grins mischeviously at Domino, though her recognition of firepower still doesn't explain how she's so good at navigating gangs unscathed without carrying a serious firepower of her own. Maybe people just dig her style.

"Hey, I met you already, I know you're cool. Only nerds are Narcs, that's a fact." So maybe it's more naieve talk than informed talk, but at least Kiden knows there are people she should keep a watchful eye for. "You betcha, my mom before I ran away, my principal, my teachers, some schoolmates, when I still used to go to that capital of loserdom. Long story short, ya, crack is wack, don't do dope. Winners don't use drugs. I heard it all, so far I ain't crazy or dead, I'll take my chances."

Taking a more prolonged look at the guy, Kiden grins, "oh, Slick Nick ain't so slick anymore it seems...ran some errands for local gangs, until he decided to make good money and clean up his rep by playing snitch for the pigs, err, I mean cops. Didn't work out too well for him, this is my shocked face," Kiden remarks before feigning a shocked expression, way over the top, complete with an exclamation, "snitch in a ditch? Who'da thunk it!"

The shrug that follows feigns innocence though there's a look within that lopsided black and white grin which would suggest something completely different. "I try not to get involved with turf wars. Kinda beneath my paygrade. Not the first gal out there that had to take out a would-be car jacker, though."

'My mom before I ran away.' Just in hearing that Domino forces a brief chuckle, momentarily glancing down and off to the side. "Conformity isn't all it's cracked up to be. You've gotta do what makes you happy. If that means dying young then at least you can leave a pretty corpse."

With the description that follows that amused look returns to blacked out lips. Dom stands upright and wanders back over to good ol' Nick, flicking the pistol light back on to get a closer look at the damage. "That so. As it turns out," she explains while taking the few steps over then crouching beside the body, "there was more to this guy than that. 'Nick' here was a buddy of mine. Working the streets undercover. I don't know what got him so wrapped up in gang business and drug trades but if he was involved then it had to have been for a reason."

To hell with proper crime scene investigations, she freely peels the bloodied coat open and starts looking around for anything of use. Wallet. Pistol. (Yeah, that's his P7, alright.) Phone. Amazingly, everything's intact. Everything except the previous owner.

"'Slick Nick' used to be known as Vincent Vercetti. Harold 'The Harborman' Freeman before that," she explains while checking the magazine on the guy's own sidearm. (Never fired a shot.) "Did a lot of odd jobs, used to be a good man to turn to. Don't know what the hell dropped him out here, though. Besides a thirty-eight, anyway."

"I get it, I don't deal with turf wars either, I don't wanna turn into chopped liver," Kiden offers, "I just snoop here and there, generally I stay cool with everyone. 'Sides, what a little street rat like me bother any big chief? They know I respect'em, and that's all I need to get thru the day," Kiden offers one of her Kiden's Top Survival Tips, she might make mad money one day if she writes the damned manual for survival. Kiden gives Domino a thumbs up as she agrees with her about how conformity is overrated. "Conformity kills yer mind, yer spirits, and generally makes you a stuckup bore. That's scientific research, even though I'm no scientist."

"Waw, waw, hold your horses, I said nothing 'bout dying young, I totally intend to live long and all that jazz," Kiden announces proudly, and she actually sounds confident enough in her ability to pull it off.

"You kidding me, Nick was a secret agent?" Kiden asks in total shock, approaching the body as she looks down at the man, "I never would have thought, he was a damned good actor then. He would have been better off on Broadway though," when Domino ponders aloud the reasons Nick may have turned to the gang trade, Kiden offers, "maybe he needed to get trust for VIP access to delicious information?"

"Vincent, huh? Well, he got me there, I was fooled," Kiden admits, looking aside at Domino a bit awkward, "should we say a few words since he was your buddy an all? Like, rest in peace, and hallelujah or whatever we supposed to say?"

When Domino laughs next it isn't in a challenging or disbelieving sort of way. "You've made it this far on your own. I'd put money down in your favor. In fact, I already have." Maybe she doesn't yet trust the girl but she can trust her confidence. "Maybe you can find yourself a degree someday. Crazier things have happened."

Like here. Pale blue eyes narrow as she picks through 'Nick's' phone, using the edge of his own shirt to scrape some of the crusted blood away from the screen. "'Secret agent' might be a stretch," she admits. "He was never a Fed or anything. Just a guy that would take on the odd job for cash. Was a good drinking pal, too. Don't let it get to you, you didn't know about him because someone would probably have died if word got out. Seems like we're a little beyond that point."

(Still money in his wallet, even. Someone targeted him, plain and simple.)

As far as any final words she frowns slightly, "No need. He did his job and his luck ran out. Happens to all of us." Then, Dom motions Kiden's way with a slight jerk of her head. "Come over here a minute." Somehow she doesn't expect a dead guy to scare her away. Besides, it'll be worth Kiden's while. There's a free wallet and 9mm Heckler & Koch semiautomatic in it for her, if she's the type to take either. She's counting on the wallet disappearing, at the very least.

"Happy birthday."

Great role model, as always.

"Seriously?" Kiden is surprised to hear Domino put money on her, before she suddenly remembers the cash she got for agreeing to be an informant for Domino, "oh, you mean my pay?" She asks, grinning, "it's all for a good cause, y'know? The Kiden Nixon Charity for the benefit of Kiden Nixon, and I really care about myself."

"Well, so long as nobody else died in the process," Kiden quips, her eyes clearly averting towards the wallet Domino is handling, "he doesn't really need any of the cash still in his wallet, does he?" Kiden asks gingerly, putting a sweet 'innocent' smile at Domino. Seems like Kiden was already thinking alike with Domino, as she edges closer, jumping for joy and giving Domino a quick hug, if the pale woman would allow it. "You're like the cool aunt I never had," Kiden chirps out gleefully, the wallet disappearing within seconds, the gun, however, she doesn't touch. "I hope your other buddies are more lucky then Nick, or whatever his real name is, well, was."

Getting a hug isn't something that Domino's expecting, but hey. Nick here really isn't going to need his money (or anything else) any longer, and it probably just made Kiden's day to get the extra funds. More than a hundred, easy, and an ID, which is definitely fake but high quality, and a credit card that no one's going to phone in and cancel any time soon. It all helps to keep their growing alliance strong and well and it doesn't cost Dom a cent. Win-win! She'll take the offered hug, even returning it with one arm.

"I'll be sure to write it off on my taxes."

The gun she's content to hang onto. Maybe she'll get lucky enough and catch up to Nick's killer, putting the guy down with Nick's own weapon would be fitting enough justice. "I'm not looking to adopt," she replies in a level tone as the matte black 9mm disappears into a trench pocket. "I am looking to get to the bottom of his murder, however. Consider that a down payment on any info you can scare up on this. Stick to using Slick Nick."

When she finally does get around to looking at his phone her frown grows further. '8 to 3. Primary site. Secondary access.' (I know this code... Where the hell from, though?)

"He was running a distraction. Don't know for who or what. Distraction, then retrieval. Someone might have taken something off of him."

His phone gets pocketed next, the merc turning back to look at Nixon. "Same warning applies, watch yourself if you get involved with this. You've obviously got some tricks of your own and as of tonight we have something else in common."

Kiden's all tough as nails, and by being away from her family didn't affect her at all, and it's not like she needed any love and affection like she used to get now and again. That hug was all about random show of appreciation, even if she does prolong it a bit, and quickly rubs her eyes, not to clear out tears that threatened to spill out, but rather because she wanted to clear away some dust or something totally random like that. Still awesome, no lameo points earned. Win.

The minute Domino mentions she's not looking to adopt, Kiden makes sure to create a space of at least 5 paces between them, clearing her throat and muttering, "it's just that you've been nice to me, I didn't have any lameo intentions like looking to be adopted or anything. I don't need a family. My old one sucked anyways, well, after my dad got murdered and my mom turned into Doulbe 0 lame." The offer of a new assignment is taken with a brief nod, "I'll see what info I can pick up."

Kiden flashes a winning smile, coupled with a wink and a thumbs up, "I got this, easy as pie, don't worry...whoever offed Slick Nick is going to get what's coming to him...I'll do some rounds, do a bit of random chatter, try to give props to the one that got him...usually flattery helps in getting to the source."

Any former distraction that had been plaguing Domino's mind ends the moment that Kiden quickly steps away and comes up with some sort of an excuse, leaving the white-skinned woman laughing! "I'm being sarcastic, kiddo. If you want something you don't ask for it, you take it. We both know this."

When it's confirmed that the job is accepted she nods once, just slightly, her thoughts going right back to the cryptic message still on Nick's phone. (What on Earth were you getting yourself into..?)

Letting out a slow breath, Dom turns and sits along the raised edge of the maintenance walkway, hunched forward in a less than lady-like pose. "I don't know where this might lead or how far it's going to get, so I'm going to cut a deal with you. If you get me to whoever was behind this hit then anything that was his is soon to become ours. I'll give you first dibs. As much as you want, as much as you can carry. My interest is with the idiot that pulled the trigger, everything else is secondary. If you're going to get involved with high risk situations then you may as well learn to enjoy the benefits of high rewards."

"Until then, try not to OD on that shit, alright?"

"Oh," Kiden says, grinning at Domino, somewhat relieved she didn't ruin her professional relationship with the cool lady. "Sweet, I wasn't worried or anything, and that's generally the rule." Turning to look at Domino as she sits on the walkway, Kiden looks very attentive, the more she seems to be getting benefit from working with Domino, the more excited she is for additional work. "I'm down with that arrangement, guess that just became my top priority. Hope that guy wasn't a bum. Hey, I went to Guliani High, and the neighborhood I grew up in was pretty much pimps and gangsta capital of New York City, my life been one big high risk situation. I got this," Kiden makes a gesture of shooting a pistol with her hands, even though she clearly shys away from such weapon, judging by her choice to not take the pistol Domino offered her.

When OD is mentioned, Kiden snorts and waves her hands dismissively, "sister, please, I like to have a bit of fun in my life, I'm not an idiot who is going to OD in a street corner and die by puking my guts out. That's way too lame. No way I'm going out like that."

Of course she's not worried. She's never worried about anything, is she? That's a good quality, whether true or faked. Domino not only relates, she can appreciate it in another. Seems like she lucked out when finding her new informant. "Guliani High?" Domino repeats with a slight look of distaste. "Damn, yeah. If you managed to survive that mess then you should be fine. You've got a spine to you, kid. Don't ever lose that." (Especially if things get any worse. Isn't this why I left the Institute, to keep the violence away from kids?)

When she hesitates she reaches up with a free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, the other still loosely holding onto the bigger weapon with its attached flashlight. "We may start learning more about what you consider fun." She's already got the thought in the back of her mind of dragging Kiden into a car chase-slash-shootout before the season is over. It could happen! (At least she'd go out doing something exciting. Dammit, Dom! You wouldn't do this with Lazarus. Why are you getting her involved?)

"No, you're no idiot," she agrees with a faint sigh. "That's why I'm planning things out with you. There's more to you than what you show on the surface. Whatever else is in there, it's something to have a bit of faith in."

Another pause, another glance back to 'Nick.' By now she's looking less amused and a bit more grim. "Remember that I'm still around. You need something, give a ring."

"Y'know, the school with the metal detectors? I decide to skip it the day I got shot, turns out I was very lucky that day...even got to break the arm of the wannabe brutha who shot me. He's an idiot by the way, failed to graduate, not that I cared to follow on his crappy life," Kiden murmurs, so turns out she lost her 'get shot' virginity quite early in her career. Kiden nods at the pro tip, "I don't mean to, my bite is definitely worse than my bark...is that even an idiom?" Kiden shrugs, either way, she meant something like that or other.

"If that's a challenge, I'm totally up to it, you ever hear of the sleezoid pervy creep by the name of Zebra Daddy? Me and my pal offed that son of a bitch, so, I can hold my own. Pinky promise," Kiden snickers, amused with her mix-up of childish terms with such a gritty incident, if Dom ever caught up with the notorious child-trafficking pimp who got sliced and diced inexplicably.

Kiden waves her smartphone, "no probs, I got the means, and I now even know how the darned thing works for calling. It does some other stuff too, but I guess it's for science dweebs." Maybe someone in the YAL will one day show her the many other cool uses that smartphone has, but just the way her life progressed, Kiden isn't one of those 1,000 words a minute texting phenoms.

This new bit of news draws both of Dom's eyebrows upward a notable degree. She's been shot already? And lived? And broke the other guy's arm? (Yep. You still know how to pick 'em.) "Sure, why not," she replies in regards to the idiom.

Then things get even more interesting. "I have, though it's been a while. He never could quite break into the big leagues, though not for lack of trying. We've got you to thank for taking out that piece of garbage? Hell, you're alright. Rumor is that he got himself carved up like a turkey, right?"

The connection dawns on her almost as soon as the question leaves her mouth. 'Me and my pal.' Carved to pieces. She knows someone like that... In fact, she knows two someones like that. One of them's the right age category. Another recluse. Another with a very troubled past. (No way... The odds of this all being connected are ..well, right in my favor, actually.)

Dom straightens her back slightly, looks back to Kiden as though assessing her under a whole new light before asking point-blank "How's Laura doing these days?"

Long shots do have a way of coming through when this lady's involved.

"And then some," Kiden adds with a malicious grin, she's not beyond enjoying sweet justice. Good thing Domino wasn't there to see her real time reaction, but then Kiden been through quite a lot since then too. She's not longer a runaway little girl, the streets have become her home, she's in her element even with all the nasty business that goes on. She just weaves through it and carries on.

Kiden was just about to go on with superlatives, when Dom's questions catches her off guard, she looks a little worried and then looks directly at Domino's eyes, "wait...I didn't say her name, did I?" She sounds confused, usually she's very good about keeping identities secret and not giving up friends, now she wonders if she said Laura or just my pal like she thought. Kiden twists her lips a bit suspiciously, not quite answering yet, as she asks, "are you her friend too?"

Once more, despite the setting and the rats busily exploring the remains of Nick beside her, Domino laughs. The hand holding her sidearm comes up to the side of her head as though propping herself up by the cheek, positively grinning as she sits there. "Yeah, I know her. 'Friends' might be debatable but we parted on good enough terms."

(Hell, it's my signature that got her enrolled into the Institute.)

Now in the same situation that Kiden's in, the more things left unsaid the better things will be for everyone involved. Probably. Mutants in particular do tend to enjoy their privacy, particularly the younger ones. It's why Dom doesn't mention the Institute, or that she originally had a contract to hunt down and kill that very same mutant. Small flippin' world.

"If you're buddy-buddy with her then I really don't have anything to worry about. You shouldn't either, I'm real good at keeping secrets. Just know that you've moved up another notch on the ladder. If either of you happen to need anything, you've got my number."

Kiden has long since learned to ignore gnarly background stuff such as rats feeding on the unlucky ones, it's just the circle of life, her focus is on Dom. "Well, you're lucky then, people don't do too well if they get on bad terms with Laura, that's for sure," Kiden grins as she says that, even though both likely know full well what bad terms with Laura means.

It's probably a good thing that Kiden doesn't know Domino was hired at any point to off X-23, that kind would have soured their relationship pretty quick. Then again, Kiden is blissfully unaware of just how dangerous Laura can be.

"Hey, that's awesome, I don't often get to climb ladders, but having climbed up rooftops in the city, I sure as hell know there's nothing like the view at the top." Kiden does a little two-fingered salute at Domino, and then reaches for one of the pills she gathered before, "guess I'l be on my way then," she murmurs while popping a pill in her mouth.

Dom chuckles softly, there isn't anyone in Laura's immediate family that she'd like to be at odds with for any length of time. As far as her being lucky? "Something like that."

The offered salute is given back, yet again with the bulky sidearm. It really is like an extension of her own limb, she may not even realize that she's still holding a weapon. "Keep it real, kiddo."

In the meantime she's got a cryptic phone message to decipher, the source of that message to track down, and an old drinking buddy to try and avenge. She can find the time in her schedule for that last bit, anyway.