Anothergotham. Docks. I Keep My Eyes Wide Open All The Time.

[ssjmihoshi]

Continued from Part 3






woman: *steps to meet Rachel as she passes through the door off the balcony. Is small, but bears a much larger presence than her physical form would suggest. Face is classic Asian beauty, but hard and cold as white jade* *emotionlessly* I am Lye. My husband said to show you the works.

Rachel: *nearly jumps as she almost runs into the woman. She was hoping to be able to stop acting soon. But she decides to go with it, turning back to the "Iron Princess" persona* &^@*#$ woman you nearly scared me to death!

Lye: *brow quirk* *coolly* That would have been unfortunate. *attitude says "NOT"*

Rachel: *notices the tone and lets out a half-impressed grunt. Finally, someone she can snark with!* So, he decided to dump me on you, huh?

Lye: So it would seem. *looks at her like she's something that got stepped in. WAY more princess than you!*

Rachel: -Let the games begin...- *smiles sharply* Alright, impress me. What's "the works"?

Lye: *turns to walk toward the door out of the room* *as though to a simple child* Where they make the product.

Rachel: *completely ignores the tone* OH! And here I thought he was just wasting my time. *puts a spring into her step*

Lye: *glance says that Rachel is wasting hers* *to a man who just hurried up as they left the house* Where is he?

man: *wince wince* We didn't find any sign of him.

Lye: *voice of casual, almost playful ice* Well, you will soon. *if you know what's good for you*

man: *more wincing* Yes, Lady Lye. He has to turn up soon. There isn't anywhere he could go down here.

Lye: *already walking across the courtyard* Stop wasting my time.

Rachel: -Oh... man... She is so amazing... Teach me your ways!!- *ends up grinning like crazy, probably freaking the man out more* *follows Lye*

Lye: *stops as the man rushes to open a rustic looking door in a brick arch opposite the house, then steps through without even looking at him as motion sensitive lighting snaps to life all around her to disclose an enclosed brick staircase*

Rachel: *comes to her senses just in time to not trip down the stairs in these heels*

Lye: *belatedly, her voice holding cool amusement* Watch your step.

Rachel: *grunts again* My last production facility had elevators...

Lye: That explains the shape your legs are in. I'd wondered. *not*

Rachel: *eyetwitch* -B***H these legs vault over fences!!- I guess these stairs are made for Asian feet anyway. -Ooohhhh I'm gonna hate myself for that one.-

Lye: *indifferently* Probably. But peasants have big feet. *glance at Rachel's shoes*

Rachel: *goes through several more retorts before deciding on one* I'm an American peasant, yes, but at least I get out of the sewers to the beach once in a while.

Lye: *still indifferent* I own several beaches. There are more engaging ways to pass my time. *steps through the door opened for her at the bottom of the staircase*

doorman: *cringes and makes like hiding his legs behind the door, then looks for something and relaxes before glancing at Rachel*

Rachel: Humph. Maybe, but what's the use in owning stuff if you can't enjoy it? *gives a predatory smile to the doorman in passing*

Lye: *shrug says that she sees nothing to enjoy in a beach* *disinterestedly* They were gifts.

Rachel: Oh. *disinterested tone says she understands, but thoughts say* -I wish someone would give ME a beach!-

Lye: *steps through another door opened by another man (this one respectful but unworried about his legs after a quick glance around)* Here is one of the warehouses.

warehouse: *far down below the streets, shelves of Edge vials sit in the cool of the Earth where they are less volatile. They're kept in cheap but sturdy trays, open to the cool air but ready for packaging into any portable container desired. A low hum can be heard under the arched brick ceiling as ventilation fans turn lazily*

Rachel: Oooh... *eyes light up at the sight of so much illegal product* You have enough to last until the Messiah comes!

Lye: *glance of silent mockery*

Rachel: *lifts an eyebrow* What's that look for? You wanted to impress me, and here I am! Unless... there's more to see?

Lye: Your quaint mythological reference surprised me. *appears demure, but there is a very subtle hint of snideness in her tone*

Rachel: Oh. *snickers* I do remember some things from my father. They help me connect with the peasants. *taps the catwalk railing idly, in the pattern that triggers her watch to begin the recording sequence*

watch: *makes a little sound*

Rachel: *frowns at the watch* Speaking of peasants... *taps the button, which records her GPS location* Need to get this thing checked.

Lye: *indifferent glance* Richard Mille. I had one of those.

Rachel: Another gift? *taps the face a few times with a fake nail in faux annoyance*

Lye: Wedding gift from Father, because of the tiger and phoenix. It didn't last very long.

Rachel: *glance of indifference* Seems very cliche.

Lye: *shrugs* Old people seem to like quaint myths.

Rachel: *eyebrow twitch* -I know I'm going on 30, but that stings...- *turns and crosses her arms* Alright, not impressed anymore. Anything else to see in this dump?

Lye: *snorts and leans on the rail. Not going to take your hint, old woman*

Rachel: *glances at the young crime lord in annoyance* I'm serious. I was told your distro network was the best on the continent. So far all I've seen is a lot of product sittin' around.

Lye: Do you see any dust on it?

Rachel: ...No. But I don't see another exit either. Are the guys just supposed to carry all these fragile vials up all those stairs?

Lye: We know what we're doing. *amateur*

Rachel: *humph* Alright. I'll just have to hope I can direct my boys to the right sewer tunnel...

Lye: *sudden frown as she leans down over the rail to look at something below*

Rachel: *glances out of the corner of her eye to try and see what the other woman is looking at*

Lye: *intense scrutiny of the floor below, but then straightens with an angry scowl that seems disappointed* *turns and walks off down the catwalk*

Rachel: *is interested now! After a small internal debate she follows Lye down the room and through the arch* -Ah, here's the stairs to the bottom!-

Lye: *already halfway down the tight metal spiral staircase that had been concealed behind the side of the arch, her heels making the space ring as they tap at the steel mesh*

Rachel: *hoofs it to keep up* -How can a girl with such small legs be so fast?!-

Lye: *over to the spot that she'd been looking at and hunkers down to examine it more closely. Angry and disappointed scowl deepens as she realizes that it's only a dime in the crack between two stone blocks*

Rachel: *stands over the woman* Oho, is someone getting greedy?

Lye: *coldly dismissive of what she'd been interested in* Clumsy. *turns and looks back under the catwalk... and there, concealed beneath the brick walkway, is a tunnel mouth*

Rachel: *turns to look and lets out an impressed grunt* Here's where it is! I didn't even feel a breeze. You hide your exits well. *glances back up at the catwalk, which sits atop the exit tunnel* And that's a nice vantage point for unwelcomed guests.

Lye: *noncommittal sound as she walks toward the tunnel and around the bend, where another arched opening shows in the wall*

Rachel: *follows with interest*

Lye: *stalks through the room, which is smaller than the last one, and full of packing materials and a couple of delivery trucks from different companies*

Rachel: *smiles in satisfaction as she follows the other woman*

Lye: *and then she's going down again on a looping spiral of brick ramp that gets a little damp the further down she goes*

Rachel: *tries to avoid the puddles, but is still interested* -Everything's going my way today. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the ***.-

Lye: *turns off the ramp and through a narrow doorway, not even looking to where the sound of machinery has become audible with the last turn that she and Rachel had traversed*

Rachel: *can't see the machines as they pass, but hears some kind of A/C unit and some other random whirring she can't place* -Where are we going now?-

Lye: *stomps into the room and up to an elderly Chinese man* You! Where is King?

old man: *looks up with surprise and dismay* The furry master isn't with you?

Lye: *angrily* That's what I just said, you old fool! No one's seen him today!

other men: *have stopped hiding their legs and are listening with interest*

Rachel: -"Furry master"? I bet it's one of those tiny purse dogs...- *rolls eyes*

Lye: *screaming now* How do you fools lose a Royal Tibetan Mastiff!?!?

men: *every one is cringing*

Rachel: *her eyes widen and she wonders if she should interfere*

loudspeaker: *crackles to life and a woman's voice howls* //RAID! WE'RE BEING RAIDED!//

Lye: *pauses in mid-tirade to look up with shock, and then rounds on Rachel, a fist aimed at her stomach* Traitorous *girl dog*!

Rachel: *curses* -NOW?!- *takes in her surroundings, and the men who look more like scared slaves than bodyguards, and decides the only one she needs to distract is her hostess* *lights her stole on fire and throws it toward Lye before bolting up the ramp*

Lye: *screaming curses, murder, and get the fire extinguisher!*

hand: *snatches Rachel as she reaches the room at the top of the ramp, and suddenly she's surrounded by warm darkness* *soft and sibilant female voice* Shhh. Pause here.

Rachel: *struggles* Let go of me I need to take these **** shoes off!!

woman: You can do it here. Shhh. Here's a bag. *pokes it into her hand, and that hand brushing hers is cool and scaly*

Rachel: *freezes as she realizes she doesn't know who those scales belong to* Who are you?

skidding: *gets louder as it approaches*

woman: *softly* Mrs. Croc.

Rachel: Well that's one headache... *cringes as the skidding becomes deafening in the concrete and brick tunnel, then stops suddenly as a woosh of air goes past the two*

woman: Also called Scylla. *slightly more loudly* Recon, you missed us.

Recon: You rather I'd hit you?

Scylla: *soft hiss of amusement* Out of control again.

Recon: I am in complete control. Now let's get out of here before we all get scrapped.

Rachel: *very confused, as she can see no Porche, or lizard woman* Where...?

Scylla: Shhhh. Let me listen.

Recon: I'm listening. The police have all of Red's men already.

Scylla: Be silent and let me listen.

Rachel: *grumbles and starts prying off her shoes* -**** things impossible to get of with one hand...-

Scylla: *again that cool hand touches her, offering support* Foul-mouth woman's our only resistance. Recon, the Fastback's with me.

Rachel: *leans against the hand and uses both her hands to unbuckle the incredibly superfluous ankle breakers*

Recon: I had a feeling it was.

Scylla: Need a hand? Oh, and there are flats in the bag.

Rachel: You're amazing. *yanks one shoe off finally and stuffs it in the bag*

Scylla: *amusement again in that slightly toneless voice* So my husband tells me. *soft hiss as the sound of screaming and rage becomes audible* Hurry. She's nearly here.

Recon: *backs up slightly*

Rachel: *more nervous grumbling as she pulls out one of the jelly flats* Ew, what is this? -How much dirt gets stuck to these things?-

Scylla: A comfortable shoe for quick movements. *soft kick against Rachel's leg shows the presence of similar footwear*

Rachel: *slips on the shoe and grudgingly admits to how comfortable it is*

Lye: *suddenly fully audible and screaming about the two cars in her way*

Scylla: *lets go of Rachel as she hisses again*

Rachel: *panicks, jumping out of the wiry woman's embrace (and her invisibility field) wildly flailing the bag of shoes*

Lye: *caught by surprise, she still blocks the shoe bag and aims a fist at Rachel's face*

Scylla: *white hand catches Lye's wrist in a grip like iron* Khantum, hurry with the shoes.

Lye: You ANIMAL! HOW DARE YOU!? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???

Scylla: *smirk on that icily beautiful white face* I'm the woman that ate your dog.

Lye: *screech cuts off into a furious sputter of shock*

Scylla: And he was delicious. Beef fed, right?

Rachel: *cursing for various reasons, she finally succumbs to flailing and the remaining high-heel and falls, smacking her butt on the concrete* @&%*! -That's gonna hurt tomorrow.-

Scylla: *as Lye roars her rage* Khantum, hurry! I can't hold her much longer.

Rachel: *burns off the last high heel and jumps up to pin Lye's other arm behind her* Give it up. You can't fight all of us.

Lye: *twists as Scylla falls back, her hand clawed and ready to gouge* YOU DARE??? MY KING? YOU DARE??? *furious Mandarin cursing*

Rachel: *barely dodges, receiving some scratches instead, and retaliates with a firm punch to Lye's jaw*

Recon: *nervous revving*

Lye: *staggers back and screams again, but then is distracted for a split instant as the Fastback moves between her and Scylla*

Recon: *sees her chance, and scoots between Lye and the exit, boxing her in*

Lye: *drops to the ground as a spike heel lashes out toward Rachel's leg* *doesn't understand that the cars are also adversaries, and Rachel is the one she can see*

Rachel: *one bare foot and one jellied foot leap nimbly out of the way* Ha! *uses her landing momentum to try and pin the other woman to the ground*

Lye: *screams again as Rachel's full weight comes down on her. Twists and struggles, but she's had the breath knocked out of her*

Rachel: *immediately moves to restrain the girl, flipping her on her stomach* Anybody got cuffs?

Scylla: *tosses two zip ties over the Fastback*

Lye: *purple in the face from lack of air, but eyes still spitting hate as she tries to continue to struggle*

Rachel: *fumbles with the ties while also trying to hold both of Lye's hands. The girl is small but squirmy!* Girl, calm down!

Lye: *bucks!*

Fastback: *radio comes on and plays a song about helping out*

Scylla: *is holding her head back there behind the vintage car*

Recon: *grumbles at the Fastback and mentally doing what Scylla is doing psysically*

Rachel: Gah! *winces as her knees bash against the concrete floor* I said CALM DOWN. *moves off Lye's lungs and sticks a knee on her tailbone so she can't move her hips*

Lye: *kicks her feet and pounds her fists, but without much force. Hasn't managed to get her wind back, so lack of air is starting to sedate her*

Rachel: *NOW she's able to hold Lye in place long enough to wrap the zip tie around her wrists* Dang, nobody taught you when to quit, did they? *catches her breath*

Lye: *wheezes and kicks more by way of reply!*

Scylla: *is a deep gasp from behind the Fastback, and then stands and looks over the car's hood. Crystal blue eyes are narrow in her coldly beautiful white face*

Fastback: *music about sitting on it*

Scylla: Don't you dare.

Rachel: *grunts and stands, hefting the debutante* *notices Scylla's concern* What, somebody coming?

Scylla: *turns her head and listens* No. I told them we had things under control here.

Lye: *tries bucking her head back*

Rachel: *the motion is too quick to dodge, and Rachel is soon cursing, holding a bloody nose*

Recon: *cursing as well* Are you alright?

Scylla: *wince of sympathy* Need a hand?

Lye: *breath sucks in with a whoosh, and then she's cursing about freaks*

Rachel: *grumbling* M'fine. *hauls Lye to the Porche. Not being gentle now*

Recon: *opens a rear door, not caring about appearances anymore*

Fastback: *sings about a knockout*

Scylla: No. I've got the blocker on now. Besides, Batwoman wouldn't like it.

Fastback: *seems to sigh*

Lye: You're going to regret the day you were born, freaks! I will destroy everything dear to you! I will be avenged! You won't be able to sleep securely at night!

Rachel: *sighs as she stuffs Lye in the backseat* Ugh, I hope your lawyer gets death threats.

Recon: *as she forcefully seatbelts the woman* That's a bit harsh, isn't it?

Lye: *tries to bite Rachel* *is enraged beyond reason*

Rachel: *barely keeps herself from slugging the girl* *settles for slamming the door and stomping back to the bag of shoes, setting down to put the last jelly flat on*

Scylla: *walks around the Mustang and is revealed to be a slender woman in a plain brown hooded robe. A long tail with a whip-thin end lashes the ground behind her as she approaches Rachel* That could have gone better. I apologize for the fumble.

Rachel: *snorts, which was a bad idea consider her new injury* Don't worry about it. I think it went rather well. There was only one perp to worry about. *pulls on the other jelly shoe and straightens*

Scylla: *offers a piece of white cloth* *quiet and motherly command despite clearly being only around Rachel's age* Wipe your nose.

Rachel: *snerks* Ok, mom. *does as she's told*

Recon: *quickly learning all sorts of human threats and curses as Lye struggles in the backseat* Where do we take this criminal?

Scylla: *blinks, then looks slightly embarrassed* Sorry. *attention to Recon as the Fastback plays a song about jail* The police are in the parking lot at the main house.

Rachel: Let's get this @*^& out of here then. *walks around to Recon's passenger side to get in*

Recon: *fully expecting Rachel to drive. Everyone else drives her* Oh, um... *materializes her holo-driver*

Scylla: Stop pushing, Eleanor. I know. *slips into the Fastback, and then the two of them vanish*

Rachel: Well that was a bit creepy. *to Recon* You do think that's creepy, right?

Recon: Eh...

Rachel: *rolls her eyes and buckles her seatbelt* Let's just go.



To Be Continued...?
((Written by random_xtras and ssjmihoshi.))