2013.05.16 - Street Screening

There's always more business to tend to. Night's fallen upon Chinatown, the temperature cool but comfortable. Domino's on something of a recruiting run, though not in the usual sense. One thing that's become apparent some time ago is that she really can't be in two places at once, as much as she'd like to. That means expanding her info network. New York's just -full- of people that could get the job done, but she doesn't want just anyone for the job.

That's why she's baiting the lucky contestant.

She has no idea who will go for it, if anyone at all. But, knowing her luck? Someone'll land the mark before the night is through. As she walks along the sidewalk she's got eyes only for the tiny screen of the phone held up in both of her hands, leaving those wide trench pockets wide open. One of them's even got something in it, just enough to print upon the smooth material. It's almost asking for someone to swing by and lift it.

Kiden for the most part has been living on the streets of New York City for quite sometime. She's not necessarily a bad person, but she's a survivor, she does what it takes. Every now and then, money helps, and stuff that can be flipped for money ain't half bad either. So while she's not explicitly wandering the streets of Chinatown with gain in mind, her eyes are always open for opportunity. It just so happens that Domino presents a very unlikely opportunity.

Unfortunately, youngsters tend to think they know it all, and the idea that something that looks too good to be true might be just that, doesn't run across Kiden's head. Nope. Instead there's a very different line that comes to her mind: easy money. It sounds far more tempting.

Sneaky, sneak, a careful set of silent steps, mingling amongst some people in the street and little by little Kiden's closes her distance to Domino. When she's close enough, her hand surreptiously snakes towards one of those deliciously inviting pockets, looking to fish for a prize.

There's something in that pocket, alright. It has the texture of paper money, complete with a rubber band to keep it all nicely rolled together. Couldn't be any more simple than that, right? Sometimes things really are as good as they seem.

The woman doesn't seem to notice. Either that or she does a very good job of pretending she isn't catching on. The really peculiar thing would be the marking upon her face. The whole Goth movement might have widely faded into obscurity, but it's New York. It takes all kinds! Even..women..with large black patches surrounding their left eyes, apparently.

Should the wad of bills be taken (and it's so -easy- to lift it and disappear,) you might happen to notice a small yellow tag sticking out of the roll. A Post-It note, perhaps. Maybe it's a grocery list. Could be anything.

If said note happened to be read it would simply say 'Plenty more where that came from,' along with a phone number.

It looks like and feels like Kiden just hit the jackpot, and she's all beaming smiles because of it, at least she knows better than to literally jump for joy and cheer.

As her hand latches to those rolled up bills of money, Kiden takes a quick look at the woman and notes the odd makeup. Nothing wrong with that, Kiden after all still attends raves with abandon. In a different circumstance, Kiden might have even spoken to this interesting looking woman, but today, she's got herself some cash for a fix. She immediately turns to leave.

But as Kiden walks away confident in her complete success, she spots this yellow note and looks it over curiously, blinking when she finds an invitation complete with a phone number. Thanks to her recent connection with the Young Allies, she even has herself one of those crazy smartphones, and she actually can't resist the temptation and tries to call the number even while slipping away.

Sure enough, someone answers it almost immediately. Handy that Domino happened to have her phone out and in her hands already, isn't it?

It's an unknown number. She's not expecting any calls. Three guesses who's on the other end of the line. "You kids work quick. I've not been out here ten minutes yet. Look, I know you're all focused on covering your own ass right now but you couldn't have wandered far, so how's about we have this conversation in person? No strings attached. Maybe something good will come out of it."

Something good, like beyond the five hundred dollars she just used as a down payment on a street informant.

"There's a vendor about half a block from here called the Green Dragon. Know it? Right on my street, can't miss it. I'll be there in less than five minutes. You know what I look like."

"You kids?" Kiden is caught off guard as the voice on the other end of the line already seems to know who is calling, "wait? You're the gal with the weird makeup? Or is it a tattoo? Are you pissed? Is this a trap? I mean...promise not to break my nose, and I must say I'm tempted to meet." Yes, it doesn't seem like the smartest decision out of all the possible options, but then Kiden was never noted for acting out of unparalleled wits in the past. She likes the sense of adventure, and this certainly sounds like an adventure.

"Right, so, I guess I'll see you soon. Remember, no breaking noses!" Kiden stresses out the need for lack of breakage on her nose's part, it would really up her confidence to hear such a promise, before she makes her way towards the Green Dragon.

It won't show through the phone, but Domino's grinning with the insistence on that whole 'not rearranging her face' bit. "Yeah, that's me. I'll only be pissed if you take the money and run. Nothing broken, promise. I'll be there."

Sure enough, she'll be easy to spot. Back to a wall, one foot propped up behind her, arms folded in front of herself, and an idle look of amusement yet lurking upon her face. Given by the sound of the voice across the phone and the most likely pickpockets of the night, it's not any stretch to guess that the short blonde girl wandering closer is the person she's looking for.

A playful salute is given in greeting. Yeah, Dom's such a horrible person sometimes.

"And to answer other possible concerns, no, I'm not a cop, I don't work with child services, and I couldn't care less if you tagged the subway car. We good?"

Spotting Domino well in advance, Kiden takes in a deep breath, she knows what it's like in situations like these. Or at least she'd like to think she does. She got to put up a cool face, act like she meets characters like that girl every other Tuesday. Most importantly, don't ever be scared, be cool! That's what it's all about. If she hadn't run out of cigarettes earlier, she'd totally light up one just to accentuate her coolness factor by five. Unlike Domino, Kiden's luck tends to suck. Oh well, here goes nothing. It's one bold step for Kiden...one, well, Domino probably cares about this meeting at the very least, humanity be damned.

"Hi," Kiden says the very sophisticated first word in the conversation as she approaches Domino, totally putting on a too cool for school facade. Though admittedly, Kiden is quite literally too cool for school, she gave up on that stuff years ago. "Totally," Kiden puts up a thumbs up gesture as she moves even closer, close enough to get slapped silly, "so...do I get to keep that money now that I showed up and proved I have balls?"

"You do," Dom confirms along with a twitch of her head aimed further down the street. "Let's walk." No sense in exchanging information in the same place where everyone else at the Green Dragon can overhear it.

"Name's Domino. I'm short on time so I'll cut right to the chase. I've got an invested interest in what goes on around the city and I can't always devote the necessary time to keeping up with current events. Rumors, underground dealings, what have you. Most of it doesn't affect me any, but sometimes there's some important info floating around out there and I need a good pair of ears to catch it and relay it back to me. Standard street informant deal. Here's the kicker. This isn't shady business."

"Perks include getting paid on a semi-regular basis, I'm not always in the country but I'll make sure your time is appropriately comped. On top of that, if you ever find yourself in a bad situation or some folks are giving you trouble, you just give me a call. I'm not looking for a short-term deal here."

She pauses in voice but not in step, passing a sidelong glance your way. "Care to be that person?"

Despite her attempt to look cool, a huge grin reflective of pure unadulterated childish glee takes over Kiden's beaming face at upon learning she'll get to keep that stash. It's wonderful news, and means a break from pickpocketing at least for a while. "I just so happen to be very good at walking," Kiden quips as she turns to follow Domino, unable to resist bringing up, "so is that a tattoo or just makeup? Do people call you Spot because of that thing?" Yes, she's very subtle and so full of tact.

"Name's Kiden, I'm just short," the young girl retorts with a self satisfied grin on her lips.

"Domino is a pretty cool handle, did you get it because you totally kick ass in domino?" Kiden asks before Domino's job description brings her back to the meat of the conversation, "oh, I dig it, I can totally be your eyes and ears around the street. I know people too. I'm cool, they don't bother me, I don't bother me. You know, bruthas and playas, everybody wants to live."

Asked if she cares to be that person, Kiden seems to consider for a moment, before stating, "I think that sounds like the one job I might be able to actually keep."

"Wicked!" Kiden remarks when she learns that Domino's weird spot around the eye is a tattoo, "something bold like that means you're special." She does giggle a bit at the Patch-Eye variation, "that sounds like a Pirate name! You ever go pirating? Scurvy dogs! Arrr!" Kiden does her impression of pirate talk for a brief moment. But soon as Domino notes she's not a fan of those nicknames, Kiden straightens her face, and offers, "they weren't that funny anyways. "So...you wanna tell me your actual name? I mean, you got mine, Kiden, I guess Domino is like a codename, huh? Are you a secret agent?"

"Shelby Knox, huh? I'll ask around...maybe take a look around Gotham." She waves her hand dismissively, as if she heard all possible lectures about safety and knows them by heart, "I got it, I'll be careful, trust me, no joker can hurt me even if he wants to!" Cocky stuff coming from a girl who looks somewhere in the vicinity of sixteen and homeless.

"Word. See ya around, Domino, I'll snoop around for stuff about this Shelby Knox gal, and look up for stuff to do with Bludhaven, oh, and most importantly I'll make sure not to be dead, so I can keep walking, like a boss!"

Dom chuckles softly, shaking her head. "Can't say that I've done much pirateering, though I have a friend that totally rocks it in costume. Maybe I'll introduce you two sometime." The amusement falters slightly a moment later, once again making direct eye contact with you. "My name's Domino. That's all you need. The secret agent deal is way too boring for my liking."

Sigh. Should she get this invested? Oh, what the hell.

"I'm a mercenary. An opportunity seeker, much like yourself." And, hopefully, that's all she'll need to say about the matter.

No one can hurt you? One of Dom's brows hooks upward, peering at you with one of those really kind of looks. "Hope so, because now I've got half a G riding on your word." How's that for trust! "Be safe, kiddo."