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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 13, 2021 9:24:46 GMT -5
Selina popped back up and hopped from the desk. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get it to you," she hemmed and hawed as she tucked the file into her coat. "Just need to do some homework first. I'll be in touch. Cheers, Cobblepot," she passed him, flicking a wave over her shoulder.
Even with Penguin's gift in tow, she would need to case the joint, and she couldn't do that as the Cat. When she was clear of Penguin's, the mask was back off and in her coat pocket as she hailed a ride back to the Cat's Meow for a quick change.
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 15, 2021 10:52:03 GMT -5
The Meow was bustling when she dropped in to change her clothes, and when she was on her way out the door a broad shouldered man in a long coat confronted her.
"Miss Kyle" The man was soft spoken, with just a hint of a French accent. He removed his cap and dipped his head in a polite, if antiquated gesture. "If I might have just a moment of your time."
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 15, 2021 11:25:30 GMT -5
"Oh!" Selina turned on her heel as the man stepped up to her and side-stepped so she could put him between herself and Mr. Anatoli at the door. "With an accent like that you can have as much of my time as you like. If I'm Miss Kyle that makes you..." She had a feeling in her gut that she already knew the answer when it came to this stranger with the long coat and the advantage of her name.
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 19, 2021 9:09:48 GMT -5
Seemingly unimpressed with her flirtations, the man replaced his cap. "Valley. Jean-Paul Valley. Feel free to call me Jean-Paul if it pleases you. I come on behalf of the Order of St. Dumas. I understand my predecessor attempted to make contact with you on numerous occasions but was refused."
With that he looked slowly around, giving Selina an opportunity to get a good look at his face. Jean-Paul Valley was a beautiful man, one might even say angelic. His blonde hair and chiseled features were somehow an odd contrast to his almost emotionless demeanor. His voice was gentle, but he had the frame of a warrior, and if the rumors about a sword under the coat were true... "I understand your reluctance to join us, Miss Kyle, but we do truly believe that we're doing what's best for the women and children trapped in this awful place. I don't ask you to share my faith, but I hope you can see that people are being exploited by evil men. Contrary to what you may think, we don't consider your... enterprise to be the problem. We want you to join us in providing for the safety of the innocent."
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 19, 2021 10:33:35 GMT -5
"Valley. Jean-Paul Valley. Feel free to call me Jean-Paul if it pleases you. I come on behalf of the Order of St. Dumas. I understand my predecessor attempted to make contact with you on numerous occasions but was refused."
Selina unsheathed a dented tin from her pocket, popped it open, and picked another cheroot from inside. She pondered the possibility of being able to strike a match on that chiseled jaw of his, but opted for the rough textured strip on the side of her match box for now. "Busy, busy," she muttered, lighting the tip and drawing, before flicking her wrist to extinguish the match.
"I understand your reluctance to join us, Miss Kyle, but we do truly believe that we're doing what's best for the women and children trapped in this awful place. I don't ask you to share my faith, but I hope you can see that people are being exploited by evil men. Contrary to what you may think, we don't consider your... enterprise to be the problem. We want you to join us in providing for the safety of the innocent."
"Jean-Paul," she exhaled, and with it all pretense of flirtation. Selina tapped some ash into the slurry of cold muck at their feet as she took a step to him. "You have your church and I have mine," she pointed over his shoulder at the entrance of the Meow. "I have my flock and you have yours. Let's not make it complicated, shall we? Your offer is appreciated, but I'm afraid the answer is 'no'. I have my own pulpit to worry about."
Those once soft and sparkling green eyes were now hard and focused. Her voice was cool, almost as cold as the wind slicing through the air, but never bristled or shrilled. It was clear she was protective of her girls and her business, but never let herself get a hot-head about it all. "Will there be anything else," she took another draw from her smoke, "Jean-Paul?"
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 19, 2021 12:32:57 GMT -5
If Jean-Paul Valley was surprised or disappointed, it was impossible to tell. He met her gaze and held it for a while, as if searching for something then stepped aside to make it clear he wasn't attempting to detain her.
"I won't take up anymore of your time then Miss Kyle. I hope you have a lovely day."
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 19, 2021 12:50:35 GMT -5
She paid her own attention to him, never flinching from that gaze on high. Her stubbornness was often more pernicious than it was useful, but it certainly kept her from blinking. Every dart or twitch of his gaze, she followed, and searched right back. What was the angle? She had just as much suspicion of the goodness in the good as she did in the bad. Sometimes the good were worse.
"I won't take up anymore of your time then Miss Kyle. I hope you have a lovely day."
"And you, Jean-Paul," she broke off from him without so much as another glance, bowing instead to kiss the end of her cheroot for another pull, hoping this was the end of it, but she knew that was rarely the case. In Gotham, everyone was covered with slime, so one was bound to stick to another in a town like this. And so on.
Selina had clawed her way to that perfect club on the corner. She and the Kyle Brothers were rising stars. The brat from Bludhaven would be damned to follow the dreams and ideals of someone else right now. She was not sure how literally "damned" she would be, but it would be a hell of a ride.
Her hand thrust gracefully through the air as she hailed a cab for the museum.
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 22, 2021 10:32:38 GMT -5
Thanks to the Wayne Foundation, Gotham had a number of museums, albeit most of them rarely attended other than the occasional school group or charity affair. Officially the area that Thomas and Martha Wayne had started building up a generation ago was known as Market Square, but the locals referred to it as Wayne Center. The Waynes had intended this are to be the spark of hope for Gotham, which made the fact that they were murdered here sadly ironic. Of course, Selina Kyle wasn't from here; Bludhaven had no Waynes. Gotham often seemed to be a place without hope, but Bludhaven was a place where people had simply given up.
As the taxi pulled up in front of the Natural History Museum, Selina noticed a tattered banner advertising the new (two months ago) dinosaur exhibit. A single guard, almost assuredly an off-duty police officer, stood in the frigid cold, smoking a cigarette. He merely nodded to Selina as she moved toward the entrance. If he knew who she was, he didn't register it.
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 22, 2021 13:43:32 GMT -5
As the cab pulled away, Selina squinted at the old banner, and clicked her teeth. "How 'bout that," she muttered under breath, taking one last pull on her cheroot before stamping it out into the slush. On her way in, she nodded back to the guard. Pleasantries were banal and ultimately forgetful, preferable instead of him remembering that "rude woman" from the other day. This way, she was just like any other guest.
Moving through the lobby, she folded a couple bucks, and dropped them in the donation box. Selina approached the information booth, armed with a charming, warm smile. "When is the next tour through the museum?" Blending in with a crowd was better than wandering around alone. Alone, everyone wanted to know what she was doing, where was her husband or her date, was her little whippersnapper running around the museum, etc. In a group, she did not stand out as much, and if she lingered by some man, everyone would just assume they were an item and leave her alone. "And do you have a map or museum pamphlet I could read?" That will easily cover up Cobblepot's notes, please and thank you, she thought to herself with a bemused grin.
===*=== Health 4 Energy 12
Action 1 Social Skills 4 - Charm Just schmoozing through.
Action 2 No Action
Modifiers Reflexive Dodge +3 Targeting +2
Equipment (Current) Thief Kit
Health 4 Energy 8
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 24, 2021 19:20:37 GMT -5
The bored looking young woman behind the counter brightened up a bit. "Oh, sorry, tours are by schedule only at the moment, or for special occasions. Nobody is really here at the moment anyway."
"Oh! But yeah, maps. I'm supposed to charge a nickle but here ya go." She produced a beautifully printed map, courtesy of Wayne Industries, from behind her desk. "If you see the security guard around here somewhere, remind him he's supposed to ring his wife on his lunch. She's in a family way, and he forgets to check in on her."
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 25, 2021 9:25:17 GMT -5
"Fair enough," Selina accepted the offered map, and tipped a corner of it to her. "I'll let him know. Cheers, doll," she flashed those pearly whites one more time before heading into the museum proper. In the family way, eh? Good to know. Selina unfolded her plan from Penguin and laid it in the map. Joints like this were more like candy shops for the up and coming cat burglar. When she finally put eyes on the security guard, she folded the map shut and tucked it under her arm as she approached. "Excuse me," she tapped him on the shoulder. "The young lady in the lobby wanted me to remind you to call that mom to be on your lunch."
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 25, 2021 17:35:09 GMT -5
The security guard, a middle aged guy with thinning hair and a growing middle, smiled the way middle aged men tended to smile when they saw Selina Kyle. He nodded, muttered a thanks, and turned to go, then turned back. "Not bein' rude I hope, Miss, but you're Selina Kyle if I'm right? How's your brothers, Miss Kyle? Okay? Healthy?"
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 25, 2021 17:41:37 GMT -5
Selina was not too often caught off guard, but this guard certainly swung it. "Charmed," she held her hand out, though part of her was wishing she could bluff him. If she failed, it would have brought even more attention to her. Selina's eyes narrowed as she glanced him up and down. "They're good. What gives or are you just a fan?" Selina smirked with a beguiling little wiggle of her slender shoulders.
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 25, 2021 17:48:54 GMT -5
The man didn't walk back toward her, rudely ignoring the offered hand. "Do you like riddles, Miss Kyle? Here's one for you to ponder. 'Tool of the thief, toy of the Queen, sign of sorrow, giving to all a likeness borrowed'
"Have a pleasant day, Miss Kyle" the guard smiled and turned to go.
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 25, 2021 18:03:01 GMT -5
The man didn't walk back toward her, rudely ignoring the offered hand. "Do you like riddles, Miss Kyle?"
At first, her nose wrinkled when her hand was refused, but his question sent a bolt through her. The hand in midair twitched slightly from the shock of it before she plunged it in the depths of her coat pocket. She could not tell, but he probably could, that the color had left her face. "I--"
"Here's one for you to ponder. 'Tool of the thief, toy of the Queen, sign of sorrow, giving to all a likeness borrowed'
No. The Riddler was a scourge to anyone with a secret. The assumption that this was him was not a difficult leap to make. She was frozen where she stood. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she still somehow heard his riddle.
"Have a pleasant day, Miss Kyle" the guard smiled and turned to go.
"Wait!" Selina had lunged forward to catch his sleeve before she was even aware she had done it. "C'mon, you're pullin' my leg here, ain't'cha?" Selina tried to play the motion off with a grin and a chuckle, both nervous.
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