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

Comments

[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

[i_am_bane]

Bane felt a momentary case of panic. In his years in prison he became learned in a variety of fields; philosophy, languages, tactics, fighting styles, but this... Comforting a young girl was not in his skill set. Still...

"It's..okay, senorita joven." He ackwardly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. God he hoped he was doing this right. "Do you want to talk about it? I promise you I'll help if I can." His voice was quiet, but he attempted to express his sincerity in his words.

[jla_extras]

The trembling lips and the cheap mascara getting smeared and streaking down her face with tears completely destroys her earlier attempts to 'adultify' her appearance. Some girls can look pretty when weeping, this isn't one of them. Her cheeks blotch and redden as the emotions surge.

"I..i.. wanna go hoooome..."

Patrons nearby begin looking over to her and then Bane with mixed looks of suspicion and discomfort.

[i_am_bane]

Bane reacts quickly.

"Tell the boss I'm taking my sister home. I'll be right back." He doesn't wait for the bartender to reply. He whispers to the girl. "I want to help to you. I'm going to take you outside, out front, so you know I won't hurt you. After I take you out of this pit, then perhaps you can tell me why you came here. Ok?" Bane's trying to be as comforting as possible, but this was WAY out of his list of abilities.

[jla_extras]

A blubbery nod complete with sniffles is what he gets from her. There's a considerable amount of self conscious embarrassing growing in her expression. She accompanies the hulking man out of the club.

Outside is the grime and long shadows of Gotham. A light rain has started, causing the filth in the street and sidewalks to swirl and glimmer in unnatural oily colors under the sick and yellow insufficient lighting of the street lamps.

A cab drives bay, sending a small spray of water their way.

The girls holds her arms around her. Her face is a makeup disaster from the tears and rain. She looks over and up to Bane. There is a dawning in her face that says she's only now wondering about the wisdom of heading outside with an adult man she only just met in a club.

"Uh.. could you call me a cab?", trepidation creeping into her voice.

[i_am_bane]

Bane nods and begins to wave for a taxi. He looks down at the girl, desperately trying to keep any akwardness from appearing on his face.

"I have to go back to my shift soon, but I'll stay until a cab stops to pick you up." Bane keeps a respectable distance so as to intimidate the girl as little as possible. At the same time he was close enough to scare away potential predators. "I do not wish to insult your intelligence, but..you have to know this is no place for someone as young as you. Why would you come here?"

[jla_extras]

A harrowed look dominates her face. It speaks of life experience that children should not have.

"I...I wanted to forget about home for awhile. Maybe find something that could make me forget... me."

[i_am_bane]

Bane gave her a sympathetic look.

"I understand all too well. Where I grew up..it was a living hell. I absorbed myself in anything I could to take my mind off what was happening around me. One day..I was exposed to drugs. On one hand it made me feel better than I ever had before, but on the other.." Bane sighs as he recollects his past. "it made me into something I didn't recognize. It made me feel as if I wasn't in control of myself. Drugs are a temporary solution that in the end will always do more harm than good."

Bane can't afford to leave now, not if he wanted to get in good with Blakely. However, what if her father was some kind of abuser or if her mother wasn't home. He couldn't just send her to someplace like that.

"Do you have someplace you can go? A friend's house perhaps?"

[jla_extras]

She nods. Bane's words have clearly reached her. It's probably the first time anyone has spoken to her like this.

She hesitates.
"You know, I thought maybe you were some kind of...you know..creep, but you're not."

She's close to tears.

The cab rolls up.

[i_am_bane]

Bane gives a light smile, not a gesture he's used to, but genuine.

"I wouldn't say 'creep' per se, but I was for a long time a person I wasn't proud of. I have no illusions of absolution, but I hope I can at least be a better person when the time comes." Bane sees the cab arrive, cats an around-glance to make sure no one trieds to climb in with her. "Take care of yourself, chiquita."

Bane turned to head back into the club.