InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Run!"

vesper price 😼 selina kyle (darkerthanyours) wrote in thereincarnates,
@ 2020-09-23 01:07:00

Entry tags:

aaron taft, harper kelly, vesper price

Who: Aaron & Vesper (with a side of Harper)
What: First meetings under less than desirable circumstances
Where: An office building in Los Angeles, CA
When: Backdated to Tuesday afternoon, September 8th, 2020
Warnings: BATCAT.

Vesper hated coming here. She knew it was necessary, but everyone else who might come here to meet her for the drop off always inevitably gave her the creeps. She supposed that was sort of the point, but it never got less grating on the nerves. Everyone in the Resistance, other than Joseph, was some degree of insane or megalomaniac. Okay so he technically fit into the latter, but also one she could actually stand. Comes with the territory in an organization like this, she knew. This wasn't her first rodeo anymore then it was Selina's, and everybody in Selina's world was just plain bonkers. Everyone except one. At least within her own family, Vesper more or less knew what to expect. A group full of power hungry, many even power-filled reincarnates who were really just looking to watch the world burn?

No thanks, she'd stick to good, old fashioned burglary.

Unfortunately, that's also why she was here. One of Vesper's many different hobbies happened to involve the procurement of things. All of them valuable, most of them very unique. She'd always been pretty good at sniffing out the things she could get the most money from that people would be dumb enough to spend too much for, but reincarnation really opened up a whole new set of doors for her little side hustle. The game no longer stopped at fancy jewels and expensive antiques (as much as she loved adding those to her own private collection while she searched for potential buyers), now she was able to get her hands on all sorts of things.

A lot of the time reincarnate artifacts boiled down to increasingly bizarre weapons, but really, anything went. That was the beauty of a world without limits, only more possibilities. Anything could be used for something that somebody out there wanted, and Vesper was more than willing to sell her findings to the highest bidder. Naturally, the highest bidder was usually the Resistance. Camelot was too straight laced most of the time to stoop to her level, though desperate times always called for desperate measures, yadda yadda. The Agency probably wouldn't take very kindly to knowing it was her who kept lifting personal reincarnate items before they had a chance to repossess them, so outside of independent contractors, that really only left one group for Vesper to take her wares to.

She was antsy to get this trade over with, so of course they were keeping her waiting. Vesper passed the time by ticking off in her head all of the myriad of different ways she could probably get into this building without using a door if she really wanted to. She wouldn't, if only because she didn't have a good enough reason to at the moment, but she could. It wasn't exactly Fort Knox, and a fairly inconspicuous structure from the outside, though she would be stupid not to consider how many different levels of security they could have running through the place. She also wasn't dumb enough to think this was the real Resistance headquarters, enough time to study it had already told her this building was a decoy. A puzzle for another day.

Leaning her back against the cool stone behind her, Vesper crossed her arms over her chest and huffed a noise of impatience. It'd been ten minutes, maybe fifteen that she'd wasted standing here in this hallway that might as well be a dank tunnel for its lack of natural light and no way out that wasn't backwards or forwards, or one of the rooms on either side of her that didn't even seem to have windows. It was enough to make any girl feel a little trapped. Her dark clothing made her nearly imperceptible from the shadows bouncing off the walls if you were far enough way, but green eyes were sharp enough to spot the approaching figure from some ways down the hall once she looked up. Male, at least six-foot-one, maybe taller. No one she recognized by physique alone, though she'd have to be blind not to notice how appealing his was in particular.

Too bad she was more annoyed that they were giving her the run around. She might have opened with something nicer. (Not likely.)

"It's about time," Vesper called out to the approaching figure, pushing herself lazily off the wall and into the artificial light. Whoever he was, at least he wasn't that bitch in recruitment or her least favorite certified nutso. Dealing with Quinn was never anything but a headache. Kicking a medium sized bag at her feet, Vesper re-crossed her arms impatiently. "Do you want this stuff or not? Because I don't have all day." That was a lie, she made her own schedule, but a very important part of that schedule was to never spend anymore time here then she absolutely had to. It made her cranky.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

darkerthanyours
2020-10-09 05:47 am UTC (link)

More strange reactions from the good looking stranger standing across from her, but at least this one made a little more sense than the way he'd responded to the word 'detective', like it'd bitten him. She didn't have to know his situation intimately to at least relate on a very basic level; family was complicated. Hell, when it came to her own family in particular, complicated didn't even begin to cut it. Whatever your excuse was for avoiding them, she'd most likely used it at least once.

Then again, most of her family wasn't even half as nice as the girl Vesper met had seemed (nice, albeit a little too intense for a first meeting), but she supposed he must still have a good reason. Or she was just giving him too much credit and he was actually the kind of heartless bastard who would let his sister worry herself sick over him without so much as a note or a phone call. It wasn't often that Vesper was in such an uncharacteristically charitable mood, but there was just something about his sad, droopy demeanor that made her almost feel bad for the guy.

Vesper had run into her as the girl was passing through Pittsburgh, handing out fliers outside of a coffee shop and asking anyone who would stop to talk to her if they'd seen the man in the photo. His photo. Now, Vesper wasn't exactly what you'd call a bleeding heart, but she wasn't heartless either. And for the same reasons she almost felt bad for this guy, the girl's miserable demeanor and wide eyed desperation had left an impression. Actually, it was a look eerily similar to his. Had the girl said they were twins? Now Vesper thought she might have.

Not being very close with anyone in her family save for maybe one sibling that she could stand being in the company of, Vesper couldn't really relate to what she was going through. But if she'd had a twin (provided they weren't as annoying as her sister), Vesper thought she'd feel the same way she did. It's why she'd gone against her better judgement and let the girl talk her ear off, even thought it wouldn't have made a difference. Vesper hadn't seen him. Weird how circumstances could change in the blink of an eye. She hadn't gotten the girl's number, but Vesper had referred her to a private investigator she knew in Chicago. If anyone could find her brother, Vesper reasoned, he could. Funny that she still ended up finding him first. Life sure comes at you fast.

"Hey man, no judgement," Vesper responded with a casual shrug, hands full of cash held out like a surrender (yeah, right). "If you wanna stay gone that's none of my business, but someone's looking for you."

She probably shouldn't be pushing it, but Vesper had never known how to not push it. Besides. He'd just gotten even more interesting to her, her own curiosity already peaking. The itch to know what exactly his deal was with the Resistance was already poking at her, but she wouldn't get the chance. For one thing, she wasn't here for that, and she really ought to not linger too long now that she'd made sure all of the money was accounted for. For another, they were about to be joined by one of Vesper's least favorite people, visibly bristling at the sound of Harper Kelly's voice that was like nails on a chalk board to her ears.

"Well, well," the blonde spoke as she slunk into the room, seemingly out of nowhere and looking sharply between Vesper and the man who looked like he wanted to hang himself. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Vesper rolled her eyes so hard she practically sprained something as she fixed Harper with a look of disdain she made no effort to hide. They both knew that Vesper's partnership with Joseph made it pretty hard to justify doing anything to her, not without good reason, and Vesper did like to flaunt that. "You need to get some new material, that one's so old my grandmother's still using it."

Harper stuck her tongue out at Vesper and then turned her full attention to Aaron. "How did it go? Everything accounted for, I hope?" But Vesper cut in before he could, putting the last stacks of cash back inside the briefcase, shutting it and pulling it closer to her out of habit, just in case either of them tried to do anything funny. "We're all good here. Right, new guy?" Hey, she wouldn't rat him out if he didn't rat her out.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

darksadlonely
2020-10-10 10:24 pm UTC (link)

Aaron almost laughed when the thief confirmed his suspicions. What a small, stupid world this was. “If I had a choice, I never would’ve been gone in the first – ”

Maybe it was a good thing that was the moment Harper Kelly decided to check up on them. Aaron got along too easily with people, including people he was better off not talking to at all. How many times had he told the wrong person all about his life, from back when he was kid to only a few short months ago when a reporter pretended to befriend him and printed a trashy article that attributed his refusal to believe the official story about his father’s murder to an Oedipal complex? Though he still didn’t know her name and probably never would, he was this close to telling the thief all about Eleanor and why she was looking for him when Harper walked through the door. This close to telling her everything just because he needed to talk to somebody, and right now she was the closest thing to the person he wanted to talk to more than anyone else.

Leave it to Harley Quinn to save him from making that mistake again.

At the sound of her voice, Aaron visibly stiffened, then stuffed his hands back into his pockets. His shoulders fell back into a hunch he could never totally get rid of, because he spent all of his life overly conscious of his tall frame and therefore unconsciously tried to minimize it when he was the most uncomfortable. Being around Harper certainly qualified, but caution outweighed discomfort with her. He knew he wasn’t intimidating like Bruce – like Batman – and it wouldn’t matter even if he was. Harper held all the power in this relationship, and Aaron had no way to challenge that. Not if he wanted to stay alive.

He glanced between the women, a small crease forming between his brows at Harper’s pointed barb and the thief’s cool rebuttal. They knew each other, that much was obvious, but he felt like he was missing something. Something really obvious.

Something Bruce had already figured out, judging by the cold sweat that was breaking out all over his body.

Before he could figure it out or ask Bruce to maybe share whatever it was that was bothering him so much, the thief caught him in a trap. A small one, sure, but the kind that felt like no matter how he answered Harper’s question – if he agreed with the thief that everything had gone smoothly, or if he told his handler she’d tried to stiff them – he’d be the one to pay for it. At the same time, though, it wasn’t much of a choice at all. Not for him, anyway. Even if the Resistance had been spying on them somehow, there was only one right thing to do.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, we’re all good.” Aaron kept his face perfectly neutral while he answered. He wasn’t the best liar, but this wasn’t so different from what he and Nora used to do with their parents, working together to keep both of them out of trouble when one of them had done something wrong. “Everything’s here, so I think we’re good to go.”

He stepped up to the table and started putting the weapons in the bag unasked, maybe a little too eager to get this over with. The move brought him closer to the thief, and he couldn’t help but glance at her again, still trying to solve a puzzle that was missing most of the pieces. “That cat thing,” he said to her finally, aware that Harper would hear but not really caring. “Was that just a bad burglar joke?”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

darkerthanyours
2020-10-12 01:45 am UTC (link)

Harper may have interrupted them just when things were potentially starting to get really interesting, but she hadn't interrupted them soon enough for Vesper not to be able to guess what the rest of his sentence was before he cut himself off. 'If I had a choice, I never would’ve been gone in the first place'. Now, that was interesting. Immediately, Vesper's view of the situation changed, the wheels already turning in her head as she watched his body language with keen eyes.

Not that he had been the picture of relaxed with Vesper, but he had noticeably stiffened when Harper had first entered the room. Fine, that could just be because he, like Vesper, was not a Harley Quinn fan. Kind of easy not to be, considering how grating she was on the nerves. Harper might not be as loud about it, but she could still be pretty damn annoying without even trying. Like just being in the same room as you, for example. If it weren't for the fact that it would make Joseph's job harder, Vesper would be tempted to get a lot nastier with the clown.

So, this guy either just didn't like Harper and therefore at least exhibited some good taste in other people. Or, it was something else. Blackmail maybe? He was definitely new to the Resistance either way, but maybe she'd misjudged him before, passing him off as just another incompetent recruit. The only reason she thought that was because, for one thing, missing people didn't usually turn up in the Resistance. Or rather, people who ran with the Resistance didn't usually have people on the outside who cared enough to try and find them. The other reason was that this was the first time Vesper had actually seen Harper Kelly deign to show up for a hand off. Almost like she was checking up on someone, and as much as they disliked each other, Vesper doubted it was her.

Vesper couldn't tell what might be so special about this guy that the Resistance would go to that kind of trouble, but it also wouldn't be the first time she'd heard of somebody getting conned into their ranks. Poor guy. No wonder he seemed a little too earnest for the Resistance. If that's what was actually happening, but either way, her curiosity was peaked enough that Vesper was suddenly dying to find out.

Pleased that he'd gone along with her lie (and once again just proving her suspicions that he was something other than the Resistance's usual brand of sociopathic recruits), Vesper was mildly surprised when he actually asked her a question. Arching an eyebrow, Vesper leaned across the table closer to him, one hand still on the briefcase and dark eyes glittering with a hint of mischief to them. "Why do you wanna know? Got a thing for cats? Or is it burglars?"

He hadn't ratted her out for trying to steal from them so clearly being a thief didn't bother him too much, but Vesper obviously wasn't going to come right out and tell the truth about the pointed barb. If he didn't already know who she was, that probably made him the last person in the Resistance to know about Selina Kyle, and that was just fine with her. Like Selina, Vesper tended to make enemies a little too quickly around here. Unfortunately, Harper wasn't as interested in playing games.

"Don't you and Ms. Kyle have a litter box to get back to?" The blonde sneered, hanging back from the pair until then but now she came around to one side of Aaron and drooped an arm through his with the express purpose of trying to make him as uncomfortable in this situation as possible.

"Don't you have a padded room to get back to," Vesper shot back, annoyed as the coy smile edging across her lips all but disappeared from her face. Harper turned to whisper to Aaron, loudly enough for Vesper to hear. "Better check your pockets before you leave, that one has slippery fingers." Arm absently slipping away from his, Harper took hold of one of the guns still left on the table and inspected it more closely. "And fleas."

At that Vesper looked almost murderous, her own body language tense like she might be deciding whether or not it'd be worth it to actually pick a fight. "You want to say that a little louder?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

darksadlonely
2020-10-14 03:38 pm UTC (link)

A real smile nearly broke through Aaron’s carefully neutral expression, drawn out by the thief’s conspiratorial eyes. Surprising, given the circumstances, but there was just something about her. Something that, despite not knowing anything about her except her occupation (which triggered alarm bells in even Aaron’s own notoriously terrible judgment of character), piqued his curiosity. Made him want to know more.

She was… alluring, this thief. In a way that felt strangely familiar, though he couldn’t figure out why. But it was also a little hopeless, thinking that he would before they went their separate ways. After this brief encounter, he doubted he’d ever see her again. She would always be an unanswered question from a time he’d just as soon forget.

Or so he thought.

Before he could respond, an uninvited arm slipped through his, freezing him in place. He hated when Harper did this, especially in front of other people. Like she owned him or something. That wasn’t too far from the mark, but it still made him uncomfortable – and, this time, a little confused. Why was she staking her claim now, when they were almost done? Was it just because he’d expressed too much interest in the thief? That hardly made sense. It was just a question, after all, and an innocent one at that.

He was so preoccupied with the dual puzzle of trying to understand Harper while simultaneously searching for a way to pull himself away from her that wouldn’t play into her games that he almost missed the answer as she laid it out right in front of him. He heard the words, but for a moment they didn’t register. Ms. Kyle. Litter box.

And then, very suddenly, they did.

He sucked in a sharp breath, his only visible reaction. Not for the first time, he was grateful that he was the reserved twin and not the reactive one like Nora; that was probably the only thing that saved his skin. His mind raced and his pulse spiked, but otherwise he kept his face blank, passively watching the spat unfold before him, doing nothing to draw their notice.

Selina. She was Selina.

Bruce’s Selina.

It all made sense now, as difficult as it was to wrap his head around. The thief’s behavior as much as Harper’s – and the whole reason why Harper had sent him in here alone in the first place. Well above his handler’s head and therefore out of sight, he narrowed his eyes at her, just for a split second, judging her anew. This had been a test, but not the kind he thought it was. All this, arranged just for him.

He set his mouth in a firm line and took a step forward, slightly in front of Harper. “Maybe another time?” His voice was colder now, flatter, but as much as he wanted to look away, he couldn’t keep his eyes from going back to the thief. “I think we’ve all got what we want.”

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

darkerthanyours
2020-10-17 08:28 pm UTC (link)

Despite the daggers she was currently shooting at the mouthy blonde from her side of the table, Vesper hadn't been planning on throwing down with Harper. That was sort of the point though, you never really planned on those things happening, sometimes they just... happened. It would still be pretty stupid of her to pick a fight while firmly on Resistance turf, especially when she didn't have a clear exit other than the one behind Harper and the good looking, extremely tall man whose name she still didn't know.

Wouldn't be the first time she and Selina found themselves in a tight spot, and they'd both faced less encouraging odds. Vesper was pretty confident she could take Harper in a fight if she had to, but he was still something of a wild card to her. Within the span of a few minutes since they'd first met, he'd done something few others were able to do.

He'd surprised her.

On the surface he might seem like just another incompetent knuckle dragger in the Resistance's underwhelming ranks, but this guy had hidden depths. Maybe even secrets? Naturally, that thought only intrigued her more. Vesper wasn't often interested in other people's stories, but damn if she didn't want his. Who knew what sort of tricks he was actually hiding up those sleeves, and while there was a significant part of her that was actually dying to find out, she wasn't really into having an audience for it. Shame. They'd have to go for a tumble another time.

Of course it hadn't escaped her noticed just how tall he was in comparison, but the way he used his full height in that moment to take a step firmly into the space between her and Harper, that was... well, it was something. Having been seconds away from making a sincere attempt to scratch the other woman's eyes out, his unexpected show of masculinity strangely had the opposite affect on Vesper, posture uncurling instead of tensing as she gave him a very sincere once over.

Normally, she would have been tempted to push the envelope, goad him into a bigger reaction or get as close as possible in order to sufficiently distract him until she could make a break for it. Neither option was that appealing with a third party. As if the reincarnate of Harley Quinn could sense Vesper's annoyance, the blonde fixed Vesper with a smug look from behind the looming figure between them that still held most of Vesper's attention.

His eyes were on her and her eyes were on him. Such a minor thing, but Vesper didn't miss the way he couldn't seem to not look at her despite the sudden coldness in his tone. Not really a deterrent for her in most circumstances, but now it peeked Vesper's already practically insatiable curiosity. Secrets? Oh, she bet he had at least a couple good ones, and while Harper's irritating presence was preventing Vesper for getting into the juicy details right now, she had half a mind to circle back to this later. It'd been awhile since Vesper had tailed anyone, but you know what they said, it's like riding a bike. Or something.

"Well aren't you just a tall drink of water," Vesper remarked appreciatively while she made sure the briefcase in her hands was actually sealed before taking it by the handle and letting it hang at her side as she came around the table. Closer to him, though she barely spared Harper another glance as she looked up at the man intently. She was half tempted to make a move in Harper's direction just to see what he would do, but reason won out, or rather her instincts of self-preservation kicked in. She really didn't want to stick around for those guns to be loaded with the pointed glares Harper was sending her way.

After a thoughtful pause, Vesper shrugged. "I got what I want. For now." Turning away from him with a small smirk, she made a mental note to see which way he and Harper left once she'd cleared the building's perimeter. The way Harper behaved with him, it was pretty clear to Vesper that of the two, she was in charge. And if Harley Quinn was in charge of someone? Vesper definitely wanted his side of the story. But that meant doing a little recon first. "See you later, handsome," Vesper offered one last parting line as she took her exit, briefcase full of money tight in her grasp. Once she'd gotten the money back safely, then they could play.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

darksadlonely
2020-10-22 02:02 am UTC (link)

Aaron let go of a breath he didn’t realize he was holding when the thief miraculously backed down. Even with this brand new information about her and all the implications it contained rattling around his brain, he wasn’t entirely sure putting himself between the two women would work. Both Harley Quinn and Catwoman were notorious in their own ways for their distinct disrespect of authority. Specifically, Batman’s authority. Harper knew about him but was playing other games. If the thief had known, would she have pushed it? Escalated the situation, just to see what he would do?

Probably. Bruce had figured her out almost as soon as she saw her, and there wasn’t just one good reason why he wanted Aaron to keep his secrets, there were several. Selina Kyle was dangerous – in general, yes, but especially for Bruce Wayne. No one challenged him like she did. No one frustrated him and outsmarted him and pulled him in so completely. No one was more different, or more the same.

It was tempting to call them equals, the Bat and the Cat, but Bruce knew better. Selina was better than him – better than him at almost everything, up to and including navigating Gotham’s shady underworld and almost always coming out on top. Aaron couldn't even hope to compare, but on her end, not much seemed to have changed in that regard. Clearly.

Amongst all the warring emotions rushing through Aaron (which, somehow, he continued to keep under wraps) was an unexpected one. A kind of gladness that she was still so capable, a survivor, someone who knew when it was time to make a point and when to leave it alone. It was good to know that she wasn’t as bad off as him, the only good thing he’d found out this whole terrible year. And the strangest part – he wasn’t sure whether this feeling was coming from him or from Bruce.

That was happening more and more often, this blending, despite neither side really wanting it. With no one to talk to about it, he had no idea if it was normal, but either way, it was unnerving every time it happened, because every time it took longer for him to notice. Even longer now, as distracted as he was watching the thief size him up and prepare her exit. Good. Better this way. Both he and Bruce wanted her out of this room, that much they could agree on. It was just their reasons for wanting her to leave before anything else could happen that were vastly different.

For Aaron, it came down to safety. Both hers and his. The sooner she left, the safer they'd both be from Harper trying to escalate the game if she got too bored with them. Ending this handoff quickly was the best outcome for all of them. He knew that, logically, but he also couldn't help thinking: this could be the last time I see her. The only time. And that was oddly disappointing.

He wasn’t sure if he’d ever see her again. If he’d passed the little test the Resistance was giving him, throwing someone Bruce loved in his path just to see if their hold on him was as tight as they thought. Thinking it was better not to risk looking at Harper to find out, Aaron instead directed his attention to the weapons on the table, beginning to very carefully pack them just as the thief passed him and threw him a goodbye that felt a little bit like a threat.

Or maybe... maybe a promise.

Aaron knew it was a risk, but he did it anyway. Hunched over the bag, he glanced back at her in the doorway and offered his own goodbye in return, as much with his eyes as with his words. “Some other time, Cat.”

She’d know. She’d have to know. She’d find him again, and then…

Well. Then, at least, he wouldn’t be alone.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -