Participants:
| Scene Title | Leapin Lovers |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Lola wants to be recruited with excitement. Adam takes her flying. |
| Date | August 24, 2009 |
Ambient lighting blankets the establishment in a soft luminescence, glowing in tones of appealing orange from the front face of the bar and low hanging light fixtures overhead. Old style brick walls given the pub an appealing depth, reflecting the tone of lights in a more amber hue down upon the lengths of the polished, wooden floors. The bar counter of lacquered dark wood stretches along the northern wall, the forefront for shelves of numerous liquors and the substantially sized LCD televisions spaced liberally behind it. The screens flicker with the latest games and news as the labeled spirit bottles wink from lighted shelves with a beckon of their own. Barstools and high tables welcome tipsy patrons to their support, scattered with throughout the barroom with a few wedge into the darker, quieter, and more secretive recesses. Over the bar are a few banners of sports teams, most notably one of English football club Manchester United.
The thick wooden door to the west is fitted with a single neon sign sponsored by one of the brews on tap, glowing in the door's center window to shed its light onto the sidewalk outside and summoning in new customers when the bar is open for business.
There have been some exciting happenings in Staten Island, and Lola's very curious. Very might be a powerful word, but she's curious enough to stop by this pub that Adam mentioned to her. Even if he seems kind of insane and mean. After all, what else is a petty thief going to do with her days? Well, earlier today, she did steal Abby's statue of Jesus healing a blind man, but that's done and over with, and now she's on to something new.
"Aw, come on, darlin'. That were a good break." She says, wearing jean cutoffs and a midrift-exposing t-shirt. She pats a large, burly fellow on the shoulder. "Really, watch wat I kin do wif it." She sets her beer down and leans way over the table, sticking her rear in the air. For her first shot, everyone's watching her rear.
By the time she's cleared the table, giving no one the chance to shoot as she's sunk a ball every time, they're no watching her rear any more. "Hah! Pay up, suckas."
Adam comes out of the back holding some papers and makes his way towards a corner table that appears to be reserved. He doesn't notice Lola at first, but she's loud and obnoxious and, well, worth looking at. So as he lays the papers on the table, he arches a brow and glances in her direction and notices at least the last half of what appears to be a perfect game. Odd. He sits down a bit noisily and should that not draw attention, he'll have someone go over to her.
Of course it doesn't draw Lola's attention. As loud and obnoxious as she is, she doesn't table subtle very well. She collects money from the men around the table. "Go another round?" They all grumble and wander off. Lola chases them for a few steps. "Aw come on, don' be like that! Ain' nothin' wrong with playin' against some odds! Come on, double or nothin!" But they wander off anyway, leaving Lola with a table full of stripes and nothing but, save for the cue. "Hey buddy, nother round, huh? You a gamblin' man?" The bartender delivers the drink and walks off without a word. Lola huffs and slinks down into her seat, turning the beer up.
Adam watches Lola a bit and shakes his head. She's some type of hustler, but not a very good one apparently. He considers what he knows about her. If Daniel wants her, she's got to have a power, but what could it be? There's certainly many that can be dismissed. He pauses a moment and tugs on a waitress and whispers in her ear. She nods and heads right over to Lola. With a snap of her gum and a disinterested look, she says, "Boss over there would like to talk to you." and then goes on to what she was doing.
"Boss a playin' man?" She asks, watching the waitress wander of. "Heyyyy! I'm talkin' to you." She shakes her head as the waitress leaves, turning to see Adam. And she grins, that mischevious, smarmy grin. Hopping off her bar stool, carrying her beer and pool stick still, she skips over to Adam and slides into the bench across from Adam, one foot kicking up to slow her slide, and then swinging both feet under the table. "Howdy 'boss'." She says, amused.
Adam hmms at that, "Not yet." he intones quietly. He glances towards the pool cue, "That was quite impressive. A feat only a few people in the world could rightfully accomplish." he says, "Run the table from the break." he considers her quiet, "You don't strike me as a professional though. You're a tad young to be so practiced."
Lola shrugs, tilting her beer again and sitting square to the man. "I lived above a bar, sugar. How I spent most a my days. Not bad at darts, neither, if yer keen on puttin' some money down." She's not really interested in the money, though it does help pay the rent and buy beers and a few…supplies. But it's more fun to rub it in folks' face. She is a high-risk personality, that's for sure. "Come on." She nudges his thigh with her foot. The outside of his thigh, it's hardly a sexual come on. "Live a little. Yer so…stuffy with that accent."
Adam mms a bit at that, "Appearances can be quite deceiving." he replies. "Just because I'm careful doesn't mean I live a safe life. In fact, you might say I quite often live on the edge. But then, I have certain advantages others don't." he pauses, "I want to hire you away from Daniel Linderman." he says, "What can I do to make that happen?"
Lola lifts her arms back behind her head, sitting back on the bench. She's grinning, more smarmy than ever. "That so?" He might notice some streak of red on her upper arm, the underneath where she might not see unless she was applying deoderant or something. "Why? Watcha want me fer? Mistah Daniel's been good to me."
Adam tilts his head, "I'm not sure I believe you're the type to recognize when someone's been good to you for long. More of a what have you done for me lately type." he slides his hands along the table, "The truth is, I want you because Daniel wants you. I assume you've got a power. I've got it narrowed down to a few possible." he says, "When I figure it out, I'll know what I can use you for."
Lola chuckles, shaking her head. "Listen doll, I may be a thief, but I'm a loyal one." She pauses, glancing up with narrowed eyes. "Sorta," she says in thought, touching her chin. She lowers her hand then, reaching for her beer with a shrug. "Well I'm alright. Point is I ain' bout ta be hired away from a fellah who has done good fer me, real good, better'n you coulda, just so I can ride the pine pony on…whatever it is ya do."
Adam considers this, "Well, that'd be unfair to assume. You don't know what I can do." he says. "Just because my organization is a bit understated, doesn't mean we're without means." one can have a great amount of influence with 400 years of contact and money, "As for what I do, it's save the world. I just.." he pauses and looks thoughtful, "Believe the ends justify the means. So frankly, I'm a tad messier. No more messier than Daniel. I'm just more honest about it."
Lola chuckles, finishing her beer and nudging it aside, letting out a burp and a sloppy, happy grin. "Well I know what Mistah Daniel has done," she explains with a wave of her hand. "If it weren' for him….would I?" She pauses, thinking. Then nods. "I'd probably still be in prison. Got some manuverin' ta do with the numbers, but I'd either be in prison or checkin' in wif a P.O. every 5 minutes. So yeah, man's got somethin' ta say in what I do."
Adam lets out a bit of a smile at the insistance she knows what Daniel has done. It's a bit of an enigmatic and amused smile. Very few people know what Daniel has done, yet. At any rate, apparently he got her out of prison. Oddly, he likely could have done that, just a lot messier. But, in the end he didn't. So he considers the lengths of loyalty for a few moments, "Alright." he says in response, "Well, you can't say I didn't try." he says off handedly. "If you tell Daniel about all this, be sure to make me seem charming."
Lola shakes her head, wrinkling her nose. "Ya ain' charmin, doll. Yer stuffy. Now come on, git up," she nudges him again with her foot. "Ya say ya ain' stuffy, maybe ya oughta prove it if yer tryin' ta hire a girl. I mean why'd I leave Mistah Daniel when ya've just admitted ya ain' got nothin' fer me to do? Come on, darlin. Show a lady a good time."
Adam tilts his head for a moment at Lola, "And what does a good time consist of to you?" he pauses, "Are you the dancing type?" he asks, "The running from police type?" he leans forward lightly, "You already like to pick pockets for fun. So what else should we do?"
Lola sits back, wrinkling her nose in thought. "Runin' from police ain' bad, I'll grant ya." She says, grinning. "Although them explodin' bodies the other night weren' what I'd call fun. But still. Surprise me." That's always the easy route, put the ball in his court. "Dancin's fun for a saturday aftenroon, but I want somethin that'll really get the blood flowin."
Adam considers Lola for a few moments in thought. His head tilts to the side as he considers and then….really considers her. Finally, he says, "How do you feel about flying?" he questions. "I suppose that's always something interesting to do."
Lola shakes her head. "Ain' never flown but once, flyin' from New Orleans ta here." She comments, eyeing him amused, yet suspcious. "Ya got a plane I dunno about, English?" She asks, a little intrigued that this man might have that kind of cash.
Adam chuckles a bit, "Yes. But that's not what I meant." he says in reply. He pauses, "Come with me." and with that, he stands from his seat. He makes sure to button his coat, because she's a pick pocket and offers an arm. Should she take it, he leads her down the street to a large apartment building, perhaps fifteen stories tall.
Lola behaves rather young for her age, tilting her head and gazing all the way up. And yes, she does take his arm. She'll sniff around in his pockets when he's less concerned about it. "By fly, do you mean yer gonna push me offa that thing? Cause fellah I will shoot you right between the eyes, I will."
Adam leads her into the apartment building. "Trust me." he says. And really, this is a bit of a trust exercise. "I can't say it won't hurt, but you'll live. It's not tall enough for the force to go through." whatever he's saying, it seems to make sense to him. And with that, they get in the elevator and all the way to the top floor. Once let off, he goes up the steps to the roof and from here, much of the neighborhood is visible. He leads her to the edge and looks down. There's an empty lot down there, "Kinda high. Not afraid of heights, are you?" he questions.
Lola stays right by the elevator door. "Yeah, a bit. So what? Like I said, ya got plans ta go pushin me off, I'm all fer excitement, but not fer suicide. Sides, we ain' even lovers. Don' seem right not bein' lovers. That's how everyone does it, right?" Still, just for the thrill, she moves to the edge, peering down.
Adam chuckles a bit, "Do I strike you as the suicidal type?" he questions, "Besides, I'm stuffy, remember. I wouldn't do anything dangerous." to himself anyway. He grabs her hand and pulls her suddenly into his arms, "But if it's not right if we're not lovers." he says softly, he pushes his lips against hers and as he does this, even while she does or doesn't struggle, he slowly tilts them both so that they begin to fall over the edge.
She wasn't exactly expecting a kiss. As a matter of fact, she's rather pissed about it. As they fall, Adam will get more than the crash landing. She's kicking, thrashing, punching, and aiming a few very, very well-placed shots at his family jewels. "Dirty rotten muthafuckin' bastard…" Swears trail out behind them as they fall.
Adam is hit and kicked and punched and thrashed. But, while she hits, it's not likely she can get much force during the free fall. For his part, Adam closes his eyes as the ground gets closer and closer. It's not really a long fall. Two hundred feet, give or take only takes fifteen to twenty seconds or so, but as the wind whistles by and the earth gets bigger, Adam just sort of smiles. He's on the bottom, so he'll land first. But they're not there yet.
"I am goin' to follow you down inta hell an sodamize ya with a broomstick!" She screaches over the unbearable wind. She can see the ground coming. What do they say, don't look down? Well over Adam's shoulder she's looking down, and she can see everything. As they draw closer, in her desperation, Lola curls up into a ball and buries her face against Adam's chest, bracing. She's so pissed right now!
Adam has enough time to chuckle and says, "YOU WANTED EXCITEMENT." and with that, they land. The human body has an amazing capacity to absorb impact. There have been stories of amazing falls from high heights where people survived. Adam, however splats. Bones and ribs crack and insides smash about. It hurt. It hurt like a motherfucker, but it was worth it for the thrill. He doesn't do any of this crazy shit near enough anymore. And unbeknownst to Lola, his body is already repairing itself. Now, a body is not a perfect cushion, but Lola most likely escaped any serious wounds. It probably still hurts, but she'll likely survive with some heavy bruising.
Lola hits the ground, through Adam hard - hard enough to make her yell out. At first she can't move, the feeling of moving and then suddenly stopping has messed up her insides in all sorts of ways. But as she's covered in blood and guts now, she finds it in her to roll off Adam's remains. She stays in the fetal position, groaning, cradling her rib cage against her. "Dumb ass fuckah…"
Adam lets out a groan and then a sort of pleghmy cough. "You wanted excitement. Tell me that wasn't excitement." he gets out. Lola can literally hear the bones being put back together, moving of their own accord to their original state. He's even able to sit upright as he turns to Lola and chuckles, "Oh, don't get mad. It was fun. Pain is temporary. Memories are forever." and now, on the outside, she can see his body being put together. It's almost like CGI how quick it is.
Lola rolls over to see him, her eyes going wide. Congratulations Adam, you've made her speechless. At least for a moment. But it doesn't last too long. "Fucker…" She grumbles, sitting up a bit. "Mah insides feel like jello. I don' even much care fer jello. Aw shit, I hate the stuff…." She groans again, doubling over. It's going to feel like she was hit with a mac truck in the morning.
Adam doesn't take nearly as long to recover. Over the centuries his healing is nearly instantaneous, even in odd situations like this. He stands and says, "It's natural, but it'll wear off. If you didn't break any bones you'll be fine. You're body's just getting used to the impact shock." he tilts his head, "But look at it this way, you've survived a twenty story fall. That's exciting, isn't it?" he pauses and then adds, "Did you know jello is made from fat collagen? Like from skin?"
Lola gives him the finger while she's doubled over. A simple, silent expression. Slowly, she does sit up, rocking back and looking up at how far they've fallen. Her hair is wind-whipped too. But she grins a little. "That is pretty awesome…." She murmers, then glares at Adam. "But ya ain' loud ta kiss a girl an not buy her dinner or nothin!"
Adam considers this a moment and says, "Well." he says, "Then we can go get dinner." he says, "We'll just call it a pre-emptive kiss." he says. He looks down at his suit, "I'll have to change though. I'll look homeless." he frowns a moment as he considers his expensive ruined suit, "Now I remember why I don't do that anymore."
Lola lifts her arms, flinching somewhat. "An what bout me?" She demands. "I ain' exactly sittin' pretty." In fact, she's as covered in his blood as he is. She was laying on top of him. "I'll get arrested if I go anywhere like this. Again. You ever been to jail? It's so dull!"
Adam goes a bit grim at the question of jail. She thinks jail's boring, try level 5. Of course, her working for Linderman could get her there. Or him for that matter. But in the end. "Well, it looks like we'll have to postpone dinner." he says, "You could probably do with a hot bath anyway." he says, "So, when shall I pick you up?" he pauses, "Do you have anything less…" he motions to her outfit, "Less daisy duke?"
Lola frowns, reaching up to grab the man and use that to help haul herself to her feet. "What? What's wrong with what I'm wearin?" She asks, frowning disagreeabley. "I look fine. Ain' gotta be all yankee fancied up like you ta look alright!"
Adam pauses after she grabs him and begins to check his wallet and his gun and his taser, which is now broken anyway and his nightstick extender thingie and his keys.
Lola grumbles as he checks his pockets, handing back his wallet. "Spoil sport," she grumbles, dusting herself off. The blood remains. "Seriously, what's wrong wif mah outfits? I think I look fine!" Then again she's probably never been anyplace that didn't do takeout.
Adam tilts his head a moment, "Lola, what you're wearing is fine if you want to go to a bar or McDonald's or attract college men. But there are nice restaurants that you wouldn't be allowed in wearing that." he pauses, "Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't appreciate your body." he says as he puts his wallet away back in his jacket, "But I prefer to go to restaurants with linens and waiters and complimentary water."
Lola shrugs. "Ya tellin' me I gotta go into some store an lift a purdy dress ta get some food fer a kiss? Awful lotta work there, English." She says, running her hand down her shirt. The blood is still warm, and it slightly disgusts her. "Ya ain' got any diseases or nothin, yeah?"
"No, I can't." he pauses, "I can /buy/ you a dress." he responds, "But I have this odd thought that you will find that option too easy and boring."
Lola wrinkles her nose. "Well I gotta go somewhere an get this blood off. Hey, ya got a shirt I kin borrow until I get home? I gotta get all the way to Staten, an I'm libel to get arrested sixteen times afore I reach the Island, much less my apartment."
Adam looks down at himself. "You could use mine, but they're in a similar shape." he says. "Why are you staying on Staten Island? That's going to be a warzone before too long, and I don't mean that as a metaphor. They're bringing in the military."
Lola shrugs. "I don' like bein' nowhere near them ritzy places. Makes me uncomfortable." She flicks what's left of his suit lapel. "Can' trust a sucker in a suit, I always say. I meant ya got any clean shirts, I thought ya said this was yer buildin."
Adam shakes his head, "Didn't say it was my building." he says, "I do have an apartment, but it's not here." he pauses, "I suppose there's likely a shirt back at the bar. A t-shirt that says Biddy's or something."
Lola bobs her head, wiping her bloody hand on his shirt, which is also bloody, but it makes her hand less bloody. "On the house, I'm expectin'. Prlly wouldn' hurt you none ta change neither, ya know. Or you'll get arrested, an I don't want my name associated with ya."
Adam mms, "Perhaps." he says and then off handedly says, "I've looked worse." and with that, takes her arm, making sure to keep his jacket closed from her and then heads back to Biddy's.