capeandcowllogs | [Incomplete] that's not my name

[Incomplete] that's not my name

WHO: Huntress and Red Hood
WHERE: A Burger King on the East Side
WHEN: D-dinner time (a little after dusk)
WARNINGS: Pfffft.
SUMMARY: Mafia!Helena and gangboss!Jason both being all "I AM TOTALLY A BAD GUY HURR". while eating french fries. At a Burger King.
FORMAT: ohgod whatever happens happens.

Helena hummed to herself as she waited in front of the Burger King, tapping a rhythm on her hip as she watched the street for the "Red Hood" she was supposed to be meeting. This was the first time she'd be testing the mafia persona she'd built against someone outside of The Family. It had been a lot of work getting to this point (and sucking up to members of the mob had irked her, no matter how necessary it had been), so she'd made a mental note not to mess up.

Helena Trovatelli. Don't forget.

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It was rare for Jason to meet up with someone from the mafia. He was used to them sending messengers every now and then whenever they felt the need to do business with the east. Regardless, it was a nice change, it meant he was now going to be able to see faces.

Burger King was an unusual spot to meet up, whatever happened to Italian restaurants? It didn't take him long to get there, after all, it was only a hop, skip, and jump away from his apartment.

His red hood was a dead giveaway to whoever he was meeting, he was sure he wasn't going to have to say anything.

Helena raised an eyebrow when her mystery man showed up. The bright red hood was impossible to miss, sure, but... well, it was impossible to miss.

"Someone's making a fashion statement."

She waved at Hood, but made no move to close the distance between them. Instead, she continued to wait by the door, letting him come to her.

It's never too early to play power games, after all.

Edited 2009-03-28 21:57 (UTC)

A woman. Well, he couldn't say he wasn't expecting that but it still was a slight surprise. Not as much as being at Burger King was though. In the end, it didn't matter to him, this was simply business.

Jason made his way to the woman, nodded and looked to the doors. "Shall we?"

Ah, a gentlemanly thug. What a pleasant surprise.

Helena hummed.

"If you're Red Hood, then I guess we shall."

It was strangely quiet in this part of town and her heels clicked sharply on the pavement as she walked toward the doors. As she pulled them open, she tossed a comment over her shoulder.

"I do hope you like fries."

He turned his head to look at her, his grin hidden behind his mask, "Red who?"

Jason couldn't help but feel ridiculous walking into the fast food restaurant. Especially considering the topics they would be discussing over dinner. He just hoped to hell that this wasn't some sort of trap, he was prepared for it and anything else that might happen but if it was, it'd really fuck up his mood.

"I sure do."

"Fantastic."

Glancing through the corner of her eye, Helena tried to gauge the man's mood. After all, it's not like a fast food restaurant was considered a normal place to meet to discuss business matters... but then, no one ever said that she was one to follow the rules.

"Just to prevent any mix ups? I'm Helena Trovatelli. Not doll. Not babe. Not honey. Got it?"

She said it with a smile on her face, but there was steel in her voice. Her false identity wasn't the kind of girl who'd made it this far by being a weak little girl.

"Helena, got it," he nodded and made a mental note. There was no point in getting on anyone's bad side just yet. "You can just call me Red Hood, I'm okay with pet names too, if you want to go there."

Helena put an elbow on the counter and ordered food from the nervous teenager, then turned to Hood.

"So would that be Hoodie, Reddy, or pumpkin?"

Probably she should be more professional, but it didn't look like he was getting offended so why not have a little fun? Whoever said that business and pleasure can't mix?

She had a sense of humor, which was always a good sign. He had meant to go about this meeting more professionally but so far, that wasn't happening.

"I'm quite partial to Hoodie," another grin that went unseen. He waited next to her for the food--fries, whatever she ended up ordering. Eating wasn't really Jason's main concern because despite the fooling around, he was still focused on the main goal: finding out where they were getting their anti-mutant equipment.

"Right then."

She grabbed their tray when it came up (one good thing about fast food: the service is timely) and beckoned him toward some conveniently secluded booths near the back of the restaurant.

As she slid into her seat, she grabbed a fry and waved it in the air, more of habit than anything else. Her voice was low, easily hidden by the babble of other diners but also fairly audible.

"So. Hoodie." A smile. "Let's talk business."

He followed her and slid into the seat opposite of her.

Jason refrained from digging in, mainly because he was wearing his hood and because he wanted to get down to business. Helena had the same idea.

"I've heard the mafia has a nice supply of anti-mutant weapons, equipment, you know," he folding his hands in front of him on the table.

Helena nods and pops the fry into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"Mm, the family does have access to that sort of thing. We're somewhat wary about just who gets access to them. After all, there's not many around this city who have the cash, the experience and the, mm, necessary discretion to handle them."

She counts out on her fingers as she lists the qualities, then tips her head to look Hood directly in the eye.

"Why do you ask?"

They both know the answer to that question, but she smiles and says it anyway. There's a certain amount of formality required in these sorts of things. They're professionals after all.

"That's understandable. I wouldn't want just anyone running around wielding these weapons," it was true, or rather, he didn't want anyone getting their dirty mitts on them. He couldn't buy all of it off the mafia, it would be too suspicious, so he'd have to figure out whether the mafia was making it themselves or getting it from another supplier and work from there.

"Well," he leaned back in his seat. "I was interested in getting some for myself. I can pay you in advance and you need not worry about discretion, I keep the members of my gang on a short leash."

"Mm, interesting suggestion."

Helena crossed her legs, stalling. She didn't want to make a sale yet. She wasn't close enough to he bosses yet, wasn't sure if she'd be able to find out the necessary information to cut off the supplier at the root of their production.

She'd have to buy herself some time.

"Not to say that I doubt your word, Hoodie, but you'll understand when I say that we're being especially careful with this kind of product and that underlings are, mm, never completely leak-proof. Still, based on your good record as a buyer so far, we're prepared to extend a... trial offer of sorts."

She set her hands on the table and leaned in.

"We'll sell you a portion of the weaponry available. Not a lot, just three or four at most for now. If your gang can keep the goods under wraps, we'll see what we can do about a larger order."

There. She'd be able to dole that out from tech prototypes that the family had received, then mop it up from the underworld without a lot of fuss. Now the big shipment from... wherever the supplier was would be delayed a bit longer.

So they were making deals now. He could work with this, it was fine. It was a start and much better than nothing. Jason was willing to be patient, if they were hesitating to sell him the weaponry, chances were they were holding off on everyone else too. He had the luxury of not having to rush through this.

"Alright, fine," he leaned in as well. "We can do that."

Helena sat back in her seat and crossed her legs, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Shall we discuss prices then? Or am I moving too fast for you?"

Well, the deal was practically sealed anyway, a little flirtation wouldn't hurt. The more money she could squeeze, the better she'd look to the capo, and it's not like she'd regret taking money from a gang leader.

"Don't worry about me," he resisted the urge to call her something other than her name. They were on good terms and he wanted to keep it that way. "I don't mind moving too fast with a woman like you."

Money wasn't a problem, Jason was already to the over-priced merchandise that the mafia liked to sell him, this wasn't going to be any different. "So how much are you asking for these special little toys, hmm?"

Helena pulled a pen out from her purse, looking up at Hood through her eyelashes as she did so.

"Oh really now? And just what kind of woman do you think I am?"

She scribbled a figure on a napkin and slid it over the table.

"Think you can handle that?"

That was the problem with doing business with women, they would always try and distract you with little gestures and flirting.

"A business woman."

Nothing he couldn't handle.

Jason looked down at the paper and then back to Helena, "Course I can. Wire transfers or should I deliver the payment myself?"

"Good answer, Hoodie."

A slow grin slides across her face.

"Considering the delicate nature of this particular transaction, it might be better for you to deliver the payment yourself."

A thoughtful pause.

"Or have one of your men deliver it. I realize that you're a busy man."

"No, that's fine," he shook his head. There was no way he'd let the thugs handle that much money ever.

"I'm sure I can make room in my schedule for it, no need to worry."

"Right then... We'll be expecting payment within the week, half up front and half upon delivery. You know where to bring the money to. The shipment should come in no less than two weeks after we receive the first half of the money."

Her posture relaxes fractionally and her smile becomes, perhaps, a little less sly and more genuinely pleased.

"I wish you luck with them."

Although what kind of luck, well, that she'd leave unspoken.

"Why thank you," he was tempted to remove the hood, it was a real pain that she couldn't see his expressions but at the same time, he enjoyed it. Keep a bit of the mystery.

"Anything else we should cover?"

"Well, we did technically come here for food."

She grinned and very deliberately dipped a french fry into some ketchup.

"Or are you going be be the solemn dark mystery in the night who is above all of those human sustenance type things?"

The act of popping a french fry into your mouth isn't supposed to be provocative, but somehow Helena managed.

"Actually, we came here for business," Jason pointed out. "Food just happened to be part of the process."

He wasn't going to just rip off his mask because she was teasing him. Most of the members of his gang didn't even know what he looked like underneath, it wasn't only about how much he liked being mysterious, it was about the need to be.

"I thought women liked a man of mystery."

"True enough, I guess."

She shrugged, idly tucking her hair behind her ear. It looked like she wasn't going to get a hint at his identity... too bad. It would have been nice to be able to track one of the city's more powerful gang leaders.

"Mm, only in romance novels, I'd think. And I'm not into pina coladas or getting caught in the rain."

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[Incomplete] that's not my name

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