Full Tilt

[jla_extras]

The place is technically a private party as far as the law is concerned. The people at the door know what they are doing and it makes it virtually impossible for officers of the law to get in. Combined with an insufficient GCPD budget, the recent invasion and numerous other problems that plague the city's services, what lies behind the door is

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[i_am_bane]

Bane had created the guise of Tito Alvarez, an ex-con and biker gang member. He'd grown a mustache and allowed his hair to grow in a bit. Few knew what Bane looked like without his mask, but better to be safe. It had taken little to convince the club's owner to hire him on as a bouncer given his massive size. The man probably figured no one would be dumb enough to start a fight with him

[jla_extras]

Bane's position made him virtually invisible to the youthful patrons, or more accurately they didn't stop to think of him as being present. He certainly served to intimidate and maintain the minimal level of order that the business required to foster their carefully controlled chaos. Beyond that however, he could move among them without causing suspicion or 'guarded' behavior

[i_am_bane]

Bane saw the girl as he mad his rounds around the club. His first instinct upon seeing her was to cover her with a trenchcoat, or at least knock someone out and take theirs. Considering the distress in her body language, that would help no one. He had to be careful here. He couldn't ignore the fact that this girl was likely to get in a lot of trouble here, but at the same time he didn't want to blow his cover.

He quickly made his decision and went to the nearby bar and sat on a stool. He turned his head a little in her direction, a neutral expression on his face. Smiling may make him appear as a solicitor. When he spoke it was in a mild, but not overly friendly tone.

"You look lost, chiquita. Are you looking for someone?"

[jla_extras]

She takes a step back, purely from a 'lizard-brain' unconscious reaction to the hulking man. The reaction is swiftly overcome and she puts on a clumsily fabricated smile of unconvincing confidence and an attempt of allure that is incrongruos with her age. Hands on her hips she steps back towards Bane.

"Uhh.. yeah. Maybe you can, you know..."

She licks her lips.

"Help me get my head together? you know?"

Bane's trained eye notes the rapid pulse in the vein at her throat. The girl is clearly out of her depth.

[tim_drake_robin]

On the second level, a dance floor made of semi-transparent material seemed to float above the main bar. It was a trick of architecture, but the sight was impressive. On it, several teens and early twenty-somethings moved in energetic fury to the music. Some moved more gracefully than others but all of them did it with abandon. One near the middle however moved with an pronounced level of lithe coordination

[krypton_or_bust]

Nearby, across a catwalk, a suite of semi private bootees served as a place to sit, relax, drink and indulge in...well that was the question.

The gauzy drapings the served as visual barriers between the booths added both to the ambiance and to plausible deniability. Indistinct figures lounged here and there. Some singularly, most in groups. The scent of clove smoke was hinted here, despite the efficiency of the ventilation system.

A powerfully build boy brooded in a booth near the edge of the railed platform. His manner seemed to put off interest by others. Perhaps he was in a mood, or perhaps it was just difficult for him to socialize well in this environment. In either case, he sat alone as he slowly nursed a conspicuously nonalcoholic drink.

[jla_extras]

"Noticed you came here with friends."

A man in his early twenties accompanied by a trio of girls, all decked out in shimmering club gear have stopped by Connor's table.

"Tara here was wondering if you wanted to dance."

He lifts his chin to the thin blond in the trio. She smiles coyly, as if shy.

[krypton_or_bust]

"Uhhhhh..."

Superboy, master of the glib tongue. Not.

Images of Cassie kicking his ass, the girl's ass, and Robin's ass, comes to mind.

"I'm um..."

He nods over to Tim, who is tearing it up with a group of club kids on the dance floor.

[batineggplant]

Steph made her way around the club, keeping her eyes out for anything unusual, while still playing the role of teenager having fun.

[jla_extras]

Steph is beautiful to begin with, and then she has a body refined by training and regular activity that might cow some Olympic Athletes. So she has ALLOT of attention right now.

A number of young men, and a few young ladies, are all very interested in either buying her a drink or getting her onto the dance floor, or both. There are also a number of jealous looks , but they are from afar. Steph's life experience communicates a level of confidence that few teens posses. In short, she commands attention.

Some of that attention comes from fellow in his late twenties. He has a more polished and casual approach than the more fawning attempts of Steph's more youthful 'fans'. His outfit is well cultivated for the scene and he clearly knows the place and is comfortable in it.

"Hi, sorry to bug you but aren't you the model from the cover of Gotham Vogue? The Summer edition from last year?"
The publication he's referencing is a fairly high end fashion catalog.

[batineggplant]

Steph flashed him a flirty smile. "I'm afraid you're confusing me with someone else, though I'm flattered."

[jla_extras]

He reacts with a look of surprise. Stehps sharp enough to see it's crafted, but only because she's much more aware than the average teen. It's a well done act.

"Well damn, you should be a model. I know a bunch of talent scouts in the business, if you're ever interested. In fact, they're having a mixer tomorrow night at Gotham Tower Penthouses if you'd like to meet them."

He offers a card with an address written on the back.

"I know they'd like to meet you, that's for sure."

[tim_drake_robin]

Tim finds a seat on a chrome stool that's been articulated with glowing firewire. It provides him a good view of the main dancefloor bellow.

He's managed to spill most of his drink here and there surreptitiously. That and clever affectations to his body language made for a convincing cover that he was really knocking back the alcohol.

He never realized that it would be so hard to get amoral club dealers to offer him drugs. He's rubbed elbows with the 'right' people, lived up to the playboy image that would make Bruce look stodgy, thrown money around, demonstrated a shallow and self centered moral character, blah blah blah. Sure he had LOTS of new 'friends' now, but no one so far has even hinted towards an offer of doing anything illicit recreationaly

[jla_villains]

"Excuse me young man," a middle-aged gent wearing a charcoal coloured suit stands at the bar beside Drake, and gestures to the barman for a refill of his cola as he speaks to the young man, "you wouldn't happen to be one of those awful drug-addled youths, would you?"

He tips his head and looks at Tim, adjusting his spectacles. "Ah no, you clearly have your faculties intact. Well good for you, I say. Nothing wrong with standing out among the idiot crowd."

[tim_drake_robin]

Tim offers a bleary eye. He repeatedly changes the focus of his eyes between the man and the stairway thirty feet directly behind him, mimicking the behavior of pupils influenced by psychoactives.

"Yeah, that's me. Special." a subtle hint of self-loathing mixed with narcissistic arrogance crafted into his tone.

[jla_villains]

"No, you really are." The man, who must be in his late 40s, laughs in a good-natured manner. "You're a cut above the rest of these users. No plain old crack or smack for you, I'll bet."

He rests his back on the bar and casts his glance over Tim from head to toe. "What are you drinking?"

[tim_drake_robin]

Passing by the main bar on the ground floor, Tim Drake leaves a note for 'Tito Alverez'. On the surface the note appears innocuous and implies that the wastrel Drake is simply passing on a backhanded compliment regarding the bouncer's addition to the club's scenery. Bane however will see the code phrases for what they are and know that Robin is waiting outside.

The roof of the building across the street from the club sports a water tower a few large blocks of venting machinery and a number of gargoyles. Gotham is replete with ornate and Gothic architecture.

Robin alights on the roof, reeling his grappling line back in. It;s good to be outside again and back in uniform.

How does Bruce put up with that? undercover wasn't hard, but this tour sure left him feeling skeeved.

Opening a comm line he sends a signal out to Steph and Connor, letting them know he was at the rendezvous point.

[i_am_bane]

"Robin," Bane says by way of greeting. The big man is riculously quiet for so large an individual. Bane cars a glance at the club before continuing. "I take it we're here for the same thing?"

[tim_drake_robin]

Robin considers Bane for a moment and then nods.

"About a week ago, I barely managed to save a local teen from dying from a lethal dose of a new designer drug called 'Blur'. Spoiler and I tracked the source to the Club. I've been working an undercover angle to try and get closer to the distributor, so we can take this operation down at the root."

He gives the huge man a sidelong look.
"How did you get involved?"

[i_am_bane]

"A similar situation to the one you descibe. Save I cam across the scene in its later stages. So young..." Bane's voice trails for a second but he quickly rights himself. "I did some research, which led me there." Bane said the word "there" like most would descibe "excrement".