He’s the devil in disguise a snake with blue eyes

[godofcologne]

Characters: Thomas, Harry, and whoever else might want to come along
Time: Sunday/Monday, before sunset (playing a little loose with time here)
Location: 26th and Federal; Parking lot off the freeway
Content: Thomas and Harry have A Plan to find one of the new, less savory denizens of Chicago. It is the best, most simple plan ever and nothing could go

Comments

[outtabubblegum]

Zero. Harry hated the club and everything it stood for with a vehemence that had startled him at first. It was a utter perversion of love, the fount of magic, trying to twist and corrupt it until it was a word utterly without meaning and the emotion behind it had been perverted the feed the White Court. After the last visit he had been happy to leave the place behind him and hope that he would never have to stroll through its decadent halls again in his life.

Unfortunately, he'd found cause to have to return. On the bright side, that cause was to smash the place up for the sake of causing Lara Raith grief. He supposed sometimes even he could find a little sun in the clouds.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever get texting. I mean, mankind invented a way to have instant vocal communication across vast distances, and we use it to send glorified letters to each other." Coming up alongside his brother, Harry stared at the deceptively innocent entrance to the den of sin, as Michael would have so eloquently called it. "So, how are we running this?"

[godofcologne]

Watching Harry climb out of the car that was distinctly not Blue Beetle like in any way, shape, or form, Thomas excused himself from the small group gathered around his car and met Harry half way. "Watch it, or the next thing you know you'll be grumbling about kids these days like that curmudgeon on the network," Thomas answered, hands in the pockets of his jeans. He liked texting. It was words without context, without tone or the nuances of emotion. It was safe.

And handy.

Following Harry's glance with eyes somewhere between blue and grey, Thomas looked at the non-descript door with a thoughtful expression. Maybe it was the muted presence of people here, but he couldn't feel Zero from far away like he normally could, a caress of lust and abandon like opium smoke against his demon's senses. Now it was like music out of reach, a sense of something that his senses couldn't quite catch.

"Nice car," he continued, for the moment ignoring Harry's question. "Finally coming over to the monster truck side of thinking?" He watched as a woman in a fringed dress and pearls crossed the street and disappear behind the door. "Your idea's as good as mine. I just brought some backup." He nodded back towards the Hummer, at Winry, Ziva, and Axel. "I'd suggest not blowing open the door though." A pause. "Or setting the building on fire."

[nowhere_winry]

Winry followed Thomas away from the Hummer and toward Harry, wondering if everyone had an automobile here in Chicago, and if she might be able to get one herself. It'd be nicer than walking around on cold days. Or nights, as the case might be.

"I think I'd be happier knowing you're drinking a gin and tonic," she told Thomas when she was close enough. "The other's a little creepy." Nodding, she said, "Hi, Harry. Are you two really here to get a drink?"

[burnoutthenight]

Backup. Curiouser and curiouser, to borrow a phrase from another world. As was the comment about not blowing open the door. Whatever Thomas and his friend were here for it wasn't anything mundane. But that was fine by him. A place couldn't get by on the mundane things forever.

"I'm guessing no," he answered, even though he was almost positive the comment hadn't been directed at him.

[outtabubblegum]

"It's the only thing I could find on short notice that didn't start going all Christine on me the second I got close," he remarked dryly, glancing at the ancient war surplus monstrosity. He didn't even want to think about how much gas the thing was going to slurp up. On the one hand he had head space, but on the other he was dramatically failing to give a hoot.

He didn't say anything to Thomas's comments about curmudgeons on networks, in part because it was beneath his dignity to acknowledged such a patently absurd claim, but mostly because it was a reminder of yet another talk he needed to have with his brother.

Looking over Thomas's shoulder at the 'backup' Thomas had brought, Harry counted Winry, a tall guy with possibly the most gravity defying hair he'd ever seen, and Agent David who he had seen on the network enough to know she was Murphy levels of scary. So basically a teenager girl with no combat skills, a total stranger, and a badass woman. One out of three were better odds than he was used to, but that didn't mean he was happy. Plus, there was the question of what exactly Thomas had told Winry about this place. They were already both courting a Charity related death just letting the girl this close to the den of sin. "You never let me have any fun," he complained, staring meaningfully at the assembled people while adding in a lower voice, "Why don't we start by doing some recon first to see who exactly is in there, and if the situation is appropriate for those of us 18 and under? For once I'd like to know what we're dealing with before everything goes to hell."

Giving the others his full attention, Harry clapped Thomas on the shoulder and said, "My friend here just wanted to relive some old memories. This is the fourth most expensive place we've ever been thrown out of."

[godofcologne]

"Who are you and what have you done with Harry Dresden," Thomas demanded, sotto voce, at the utterly responsible and thoughtful suggestion. He ignored Harry's pointed look and comment about the 18 and under crowd and continued, voice low, "They're to distract the bouncers. Chat 'em up while we slip past." He arched an eyebrow at his brother, adding, "If security's family-owned, they'll know both of us on sight. Unless you want to ruin the surprise."

Of course, Thomas hadn't thought of that when he'd first pulled up to the parking lot, but Ziva, Winry, and Axel had shown up, and he wasn't above using what opportunity gave him. At Harry's clap on his shoulder, Thomas turned back to the others with a wide grin, in the process nudging his brother with a sharp elbow. "He's just being modest," Thomas replied, "Harry was the one who got us thrown out last time." He turned to his little brother with a look of feigned concern. "Are you sure you're not going to get overexcited and lose your pants this time?"

[nowhere_winry]

Winry gave the Jeep a long look. Her fingers itched. She thought she could make it run better but that was for some other time. Right now, Harry and Thomas had that, 'we're up to something' expression on their faces. And, from the glance Harry sent her way, he didn't like her being here.

"Can we keep clothes on?" she asked, sounding a little plaintive.

[burnoutthenight]

Fourth most expensive. Whoever this guy was - a friend of Thomas'? - he certainly had an interesting way of looking at things. Most people wouldn't rank buildings they'd been kicked out of by how expensive they were, or so he was going to assume anyway. So either there was a story, or they got kicked out of building on a regular basis.

"What were the other three?"

Hey, might as well get the lay of the land, right?

ftr: Ziva is amused to be 'Murphy levels of scary'

[killswithclips]

Ziva watched with a passive look as the group gathered. She hadn't met the others who were wandering around, but somewhat recognized them due to the network and posts on there. From some of the commentary going on, this was going to be an interesting outing...something she hadn't counted on when she left the hotel this morning.

She decided to wait and size up this tag team. She had done worse damage with less people, but she knew that if they didn't work well together, they were in trouble.

Re: ftr: Ziva is amused to be 'Murphy levels of scary'

[outtabubblegum]

"I stole his pants. You'd be amazed how hard it is to find Wookie sized Levi's." Lowering his voice, Harry continued, "I still don't like the idea of her being here. What happens if things get hairy?"

Still, the point was moot as Winry was here, along with the other two, and pulling back from his brother Harry focused on trying to keep this situation from deteriorating. Really, with such a quality plan as this, how could it possibly have already gotten off to such a rough start. "Clothes staying on is mandatory. Don't listen to Thomas, all the hairspray he uses effects his memory." Glancing at the red head, Harry noted the other man had a sharp look in his eyes, suggesting that there was something under the laid back surface he was projecting, but what that was Harry couldn't say.

Right now, though, the only options remaining was to go forth with the plan, or to call it off for another time, and since Thomas didn't seem inclined to take the latter option Harry supposed the best thing he could do was to stick around and try and minimize the damage. Besides, there was no way he was letting his brother put himself in such danger without Harry there to back him up.

"I sometimes have trouble keeping track. I'm sure the police have a file with all the details. For now, though, we should probably start by getting inside."

[godofcologne]

"Depends on whether you count the two casinos in Vegas as one or two places," Thomas said to Axel without a pause, while he left the clothing question for Harry to address. It was a complete and utter lie (he'd stopped in Vegas with Justine, not Harry), but it was what Thomas did, juggling lies and truth to keep from getting himself killed. "And there was that one resort in Aruba. A shark ate my swimsuit."

He shot Ziva a wide grin as he caught her silently sizing them up. If Axel turned out to be as unsuited to this sort of thing as Winry, Thomas was certain between Ziva and Harry, they could get the other two out. Whether he planned on leaving with them was a different story. Harry might have been willing to wait for another day to figure out what Lara was up to, but Thomas wanted this particular bit of family business over with.

The Hard Rock was a nice enough hotel, but the nightmares still came. If Lara was around, odds were she could tell him why the women he'd been feeding on in Chicago had been wholly unsatisfying. He tried not to think on whether he'd move back into family quarters if she offered. First things first, after all.

"I'm buying the first round," he offered, leading them towards the non-descript metal door set into the side of the brick building. In an undertone, he added to Harry, "If things get hairy, do what you always do. Set the place on fire and run."

[secondcity_npc]

The door opened into a dimly lit corridor, blandly industrial and looking nothing at all like any sort of expensive nightclub. The scent of tobacco smoke wafted through, as did the faint sounds of clattering glasses and a snatch of raucous laughter.

A solid-looking man in a dark, pinstripe suit stood at the end of the hall, in front of a second door, with something large in his hand. He spoke with an accent straight out of mafia movies, but there was little mistaking the obvious suggestion he was making with his question, "You folks lost?"

[nowhere_winry]

Winry thought maybe she was too young to be in this kind of place. Then she thought that sort of thing wouldn't have stopped her grandmother. Squaring her shoulders, she offered a bright smile. "No. We're here to get drinks!" Her fingers touched the bottle of powdered garlic, though if there were guns inside and out, she didn't know what sort of good that would do.

[burnoutthenight]

Neither of the names rung any sort of of bells in Axel's mind, but really, he supposed that that was only to be expected. He'd look them up later, or something.

Besides, as far as things went, the man in the dark sut was far more interesting. He was almost out of place in this world, if Axel had been right about the character of the place. Still, it was hardly enough to bother him, and he simply shrugged at the man's question.

"What she said."

[outtabubblegum]

Of all the traits Harry had hoped might rub off on his brother through their extended association, his planning skills had really not been one of them. Besides, setting the place on fire and running was not what he always did, and he found the accusation completely unfair. Sometimes he froze it, or there was a bomb inside, or it was on fire for unrelated reasons.

He really hated when he made his own case more difficult to argue.

Sticking close to Winry as they walked, he murmured, "If anything happens, stay behind me," then in a louder voice replied, "Sure Thomas. Funny how sharks always pop up in every body of water you get into."

When it came to dealing with the doorman, Harry decided to let the others do the talking. While running his mouth was his special gift, lying certainly wasn't, and he would rather not start a fight himself with Winry right there. Though how long he could keep his mouth shut remained to be seen.