Put On Your Red Shoes

[solar_flare]

WHO: Yang Xiao Long
WHAT: Now that Ruby's feeling better, Yang's cutting loose and enjoying herself hitting all the clubs.
WHEN: December 26, 2013 - Evening
WHERE: Genessia City - Nightclubs


The city was fairly sleepy during the daytime, Yang noticed. Some people went to and from work, and some visited businesses, but all in all it was still pretty quiet. When dark dropped, the lights went up, and the steady bass thump from dance clubs and bars could be heard from about a dozen places ranging from not-so-seedy to downright gross.

Yang aimed for one of the nicer clubs, somewhere that people with cash to spend might want to go for a few drinks and a few dances. She went on foot, as the motorcycle she was working on at Dean's shop still needed some more repairs and a new splash of paint before it'd be ready to take on the streets.

The chill of the winter air was chased away as she stepped into the heat of the club, and she unzipped her jacket. She'd warm herself up plenty soon enough, especially when she hit the dance floor.

Already her heart was beating fast with anticipation. Time to go have some fun!

Comments

[genpcs_a]

Just because night had fallen doesn't mean there wasn't still business going on. In fact, there's a transaction going down in a smaller corner of the club, in an area roped off and surrounded by some very large, and very serious looking men.

There's two others sitting at a table loaded with drinks and ash trays curling smoke into the air around them, speaking in quiet tones over a metal briefcase.

"So, this is the new stuff, huh?" One of the men, older, heavy set says, turning his attention away from leering at one of the waitresses to open up the case and whistling at the multicolored glow that comes from it. "I dunno where he gets this stuff."

"Used one of those new punks as a distraction, from what I hear. Kept everybody runnin' around all day." The younger man sits back with a chuckle, lighting up a cigarette. "Supposed to pack a pretty big bang, but he's handin' it out pretty cheap, called it a Christmas present. You buyin'?"

The larger man reaches into the case, taking out a red, faintly glowing crystal and turns it around in his hand and grins an ugly grin.

"You're damn right I am."

[solar_flare]

It was an interesting exchange. Yang couldn't make out the words, what with all the noise and music, but she could pick out enough details to know that she'd just found exactly what she was looking for. The younger one was her target -- if he was dealing, that meant he was closer to the source. The bigger one, however, seemed to be her ticket in, given the way he ogled the waitresses. Getting past the bodyguards would be tricky...unless she was invited right in.

And if that failed, she could always fall back on her favorite methods: beating up anyone who tried to stop her.

For now, she'd play it cool. There was no telling how many ladders she'd have to climb to find the guy who'd arranged this whole scheme, so the longer she could lay low without attracting undue attention, the better.

She let her gaze linger on the big man, smiling as she edged closer. Just had to get within range and catch his eye. She pulled her hands through her wild blonde hair, flipping her golden tresses as she spun and danced. Always her gaze returned to him with a teasing little grin, striking her heel on the floor as she caught the rhythm and toyed with it to her liking.

[genpcs_a]

It didn't take long for Yang to get exactly what she wanted. A few moments in and the older man had caught sight of her, and grinned while he watched her dance closer with rather undisguised intentions.

He's not the only one either. The two guards toss a glance at each other, "here we go again." Even the younger man, the one who'd brought the briefcase in tosses her a glance over his shoulder, frowning in her direction as he seems to be struggling more and more to keep things on topic.

Finally, there's a lull in the music and the older man holds a hand up, cutting off the conversation much to his partner in crime's annoyance. Catching Yang's eye again, he tilts his head back with a slimy grin, calling her over.

[solar_flare]

Took them long enough. She brushed her thick mane of hair over her shoulder before putting a hand on her hip, strutting confidently to the VIP table. Even the younger man got a smile and a wink before she slid up to her host.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?~"

Except Yang totally knew that she was, and didn't bother trying to hide the playful lilt in her voice. She let her gaze fall on one of the red Dust stones, and her smile widened.

"Pretty," she remarked. "Where did you get those?"

[genpcs_a]

"None of your damn business." The younger man growled at her when she approached, clearly more than a little unhappy at the interruption.

The bigger one let out a chuckle at that, giving Yang a long look up and down.

"Don't worry about him." He grinned up at her, one heavy arm snaking around her waist to tug her close and held up one of the crystals to her. "Like it?"

[solar_flare]

Ugh, the things she endured for espionage. What she really wanted was to slam this guy's head into the table to knock him out cold, then grab the other guy's tie and haul him up close to make him tell her exactly who he got his Dust from.

Soon. Soon.

"Love it," she giggled, stroking her fingertips over the stone. "I used to have one that looked a lot like it, before some alley punks jumped me on the way to the grocery store and stole it." She looked at her host, then his business companion, her smile never fading. "You boys wouldn't happen to know where to find them, would you?"

[genpcs_a]

No, the younger fellow is not happy with her presence at all and getting unhappier still with every passing moment. He seems to have a better idea of what's coming as well, as he inches one hand closer to the metal briefcase while the other moves slightly toward his jacket.

The heavier one, however, seems totally oblivious.

"Is that right? Well, I'm sure we can get you a new one, can't we?" He says as his hand begins to wander a bit lower than her waist.

[solar_flare]

"Actually," Yang chuckled, sliding her hand down to cover the man's as he wandered a little too far, "what I want is those punks." She punctuated the word by sharply pulling the man's wrist back. Her hand whipped around behind his neck, and she slammed his face down into the table.

The other guy was getting jumpy, but it was the near-grope that burned away her last shreds of patience. Seeing him reaching into his jacket, Yang hoisted herself up onto the table, pivoting to swing her legs around and deliver a harsh kick to his face...just enough to hurt, and maybe stagger him. He wasn't allowed to go unconscious until she got the answers she wanted.

[genpcs_a]

The big man gives a very pathetic yelp when his wrist is yanked back. A yelp that's cut short when his head bashes into the table and his whole mass goes bouncing out of sight never to be seen again.

The smaller guy is quicker however and as soon as he sees the shit hitting the fan, he's already moving. Yang's kick strikes the metal briefcase instead of his face and he ducks off the chair, rolling away.

The guards aren't much slower either, both of them drawing firearms and opening fire on her.

[solar_flare]

The sharp retort of gunfire is enough to send people screaming toward the exit. Yang flips up the table for cover, because that's what any decent action hero would do.

But Yang's not satisfied to cower out of sight. She lined up her fists against the table just so, then fired. Did action heroes ever send a heavy oak table rocketing at top speed toward their opponents? Because that's what Yang totally just did.

That should take care of the gunfire for now, she thought, locking her eyes on her target. She didn't care what was in that briefcase, even if it contained a fortune of Dust. She wanted him, and nothing was going to stop her from getting her hands on him.

[genpcs_a]

And as the big table comes rocketing through the air toward them, both guards lower their firearms, jaws dropping. They both have just enough time to trade another look before the table crashes into them, totally creaming both of them.

Now there's only one guy left, and he's already booking it. Yang might have just enough time to see a silvery briefcase vanish through an emergency exist behind the bar before the door slams shut.

[solar_flare]

Tch...! Fast, even for a cockroach! That just meant there would be one less trashed nightclub, for which the owner would likely be grateful for if he had any inkling of Yang's reputation.

Not trusting the exit to be completely free of traps and ambushes hastily thrown to cover his tracks, Yang instead hustled for the front exit. She vaulted to the top of the stairs and kicked open the doors, pushing through the panicked fleeing crowds until she could dart down the alley. Maybe if she were lucky, she could cut him off. The look of surprise on his face would be so sweet.

[genpcs_a]

It's a good plan and as she heads around to the alley, she finds herself face to face with a certain cockroach who skids to a stop at the sight of her. He scowls and brings up the hand not holding the briefcase, holding his palm out toward her.

And a blindingly bright red beam burns out of it, disintegrating the leather glove over his hand and most of his sleeve into burning cinders, revealing nothing but heavy, silvery metal where flesh and blood should be.

The beam hisses as it passes through the air and... everything else, scything through asphalt, brick and metal like a hot knife through butter and sweeping right at Yang.

[solar_flare]

Twenty minutes later found Yang and Blake in a small diner, seated across from one another in a booth. Yang's fingers were curled around a hot cup of black coffee, letting the warmth soak in through her gloves.

It seemed pretty obvious to her that Blake had questions, though it was anyone's guess if she'd actually give them a voice. If they did come up, though, Yang wanted to be sure they were asked away from Ruby and Weiss. Her sister didn't need to be involved anymore than she already had, and as Weiss was a latecomer, it was possible that she might get overlooked by the creepy madman who had decided to put them through hell.

She looked at her partner from over the rim of her cup as she took a sip.

"Where do you want to start?"

[descendsfromshadow]

Blake sat quietly for the moment, holding a cup of tea in her hands. She had a few questions, yes, but only one that was especially pressing at the moment and she wanted to make sure that Yang was actually calm before she started pressing.

In the meantime, she glanced around, making sure that there weren't any prying ears nearby who might be listening in. It was pretty late at night and the diner was empty, except for the man behind the counter who seemed quite content to give the two of them their space. Most people seemed to be, actually, and not just them but everybody from another world.

Blake was good at noticing these things.

"Well," she turned back to her friend when Yang spoke up, "we could start with the fact that you just destroyed a building."

Her eyes narrowed a little bit, but there was concern behind them.

"What's going on?"

[solar_flare]

"Aw, c'mon, you're exaggerating. I just set the roof on fire a little bit!" Yang flipped her hand dismissively.

It wasn't as if the damage wouldn't repair itself in a day or two. ...Not that it would have stopped her anyway, but no need to get mad if things were going to be fine, right?

She leaned back in her seat with a creak of vinyl cushions, casually resting her elbow on the booth top. "Anyway, I think you can guess what's going on, right? I'm looking for someone."

Someone they both wanted to nail more than anyone else.

[descendsfromshadow]

Blake just arched an eyebrow at that claim. Exagerrating? She was pretty sure the top floor at least was a lost cause. Whether or not the city would piece it back together was beside the point.

That next bit catches her attention though and there's even a little rustle to her bow as the ears beneath it perk up. Oh, she might be calm on the outside but she wants to nail this guy just as bad as Yang does.

But....

"I suspected as much." She sips from her tea and sets the cup back down. "Did you find anything?"

[solar_flare]

"Maybe," Yang nodded her head, taking another slurp of coffee to drain her cup before setting it aside. She reached into her jacket to take out her dog-eared map of the city and spread it out between them. "The guy I was questioning said the Dust he picked up went down in an alleyway off of Thistle street. Didn't find out which one, but I don't think there are all that many."

She fished out a marker, putting a red circle on all of the possible places two people might duck into an alley to conduct a shady exchange.

"I was planning on doing a little stakeout work, just in case that alley is still getting used for Dust smuggling. It's not much, but it's something."

[descendsfromshadow]

Blake moved her cup out of the way when Yang spread the map out and leaned forward to look it over. She brought a hand up, touching a knuckle to her chin thoughtfully.

"It isn't much to go on." She looked at the red circles, on the alleys out of sight enough to do a deal like that. It was a place to start, maybe, but there wasn't anything particularly special about that one area. "If they're trafficking Dust these deals could be going on anywhere. It isn't hard to be inconspicuous about trading money and a case."

Not that she's speaking from experience or anything.

[solar_flare]

"Yeah, I know," Yang sighed, feeling her frustration mounting again. It was all the hope she had right now, her only true lead, and she wasn't letting go of it until she'd worried it to pieces like a rabid dog with a chicken bone. "But like I said, it's still something. Just gotta hang in there and hope these underlings of his slip up."

This time she'd try to follow them and monitor their movements, instead of diving right in and pounding faces for information. That cyborg guy's words made her uneasy. If he got his henchmen through threats and blackmail, her intimidation techniques might not do much good.

And those irritating snipers...!

[descendsfromshadow]

That was a more difficult proposition now than it was a day ago. Blake had the feeling that with Yang's little shakedown, said underlings were going to be on their guard a lot more. She'll keep that to herself for now though, no sense in riling Yang up again.

Besides, it wasn't like it was completely hopeless. It was impossible that nobody had some kind of direct communication with him, there had to be somebody who knew his face and name. It was just a question of finding out who that was.

She glanced up, eyeing Yang again when she saw her frustration starting to well up once more and set her now empty cup aside.

"When was the last time you got a full night's sleep after all of this?"

The bad guys would keep for now. For the moment, Blake was worried about her friend. She knew that she'd been driving herself pretty hard looking after Ruby, and now all this....

[solar_flare]

"Huh...?" Yang lifted her gaze from the map, blinking in surprise. She tilted her head in one direction, then back again with a smile. Blake was seriously that worried about her? How sweet!

"I'm not sleep deprived, if that's what you're asking," she giggled. Tired, sure, sometimes. But not right now; she was still running on an adrenaline rush, and the coffee wasn't exactly slowing her down either. "And my reflexes are as good as ever! That cyborg guy sure gave me a run for my money, though."

It was the closest anyone had ever come to defeating Yang. Oddly enough, that was the thing that disturbed her most, that she'd swerved close to losing. That just couldn't happen, not when Ruby needed her to be invincible. That's how it had always been; that's how it would always be.

[descendsfromshadow]

Of course she was worried. She'd seen what that alley looked like after that fight, and to hear Yang talk about it now it sounded like it had been a close call. She knew Yang, she knew that she was strong and tough and smart and that she would never give up, but everyone had limits and sometimes determination just wasn't enough. Sometimes, you just came up against something that you couldn't defeat.

And Yang was her friend, and the one she felt closest to among her teammates. If she went too far and came up against something she couldn't handle....

"I'm only saying, I want to bring this guy down just as much as you do, but even you need to rest eventually."

[solar_flare]

"I know that," Yang laughed it off, waving her hand. "This isn't the first time I've had to work to find someone and gotten into a few scrapes."

It took only a moment. All Blake had to do was break the gaze for one split second, to glance away for one heartbeat.

When she looked back at Yang, the blonde was slumped over the table, arms outstretched and cheek mashes into the cool surface of her saucer. Her eyes were shut as she snoozed with a little grin on her face.

Yang was out like a light.

[descendsfromshadow]

"That may be, but...." And look away she did, just for a moment to glance out the window and when she turned back Yang was... gone?

No, not gone. Not physically anyway, just zonked out on the table.

....

Blake sighed, taking out her phone and quietly calling for a cab home, paying the cheque in the meantime until it arrived.

"Yang, come on. We're going home." She said after awhile, at least trying to rouse the girl enough to get her onto her feet and into the waiting car.