Jake didn't know why Margo had asked him to meet her, but that hadn't mattered much when it came to deciding to do so. They were both left in the present with relatively few other outlanders as large amounts had apparently traveled back in the past. This place was mental, there wasn't any doubt about that.
But Margo was hot, and whatever she wanted him for couldn't have been weirder than his trip to the aquarium with Harley. That had been something else and Harley had exuded all sorts of energy that had been a bit much. Besides, he'd joined the defense team and had been put straight to work so a break was nice.
They were meeting in front of a library, and Jake had perched at the top of the stairs, watching for her. She'd clearly spotted him, and he made his way toward her, intercepting her before she'd had to climb the entire way. Unless the library was their destination. He had no idea, really.
"Hey," he said in greeting. "We here to check out some books?"
The second Jake had shown up, something in Margo’s mind had twitched and whispered perfect. And for what? She hadn’t fully actualized and so she hadn’t acted in any way until, one day, it seemed like half of Vallo’s Outlanders had been sent back to the past. That had included Julia, Essek, Maze, and some others, who had been keeping Margo busy and, inadvertently, out of trouble.
So. Her impulse control was gone and there wasn’t much to do right then other than to keep teaching during the weekdays. The weekends, however, were a different story.
She had a bad habit, Margo did, of doing stuff she wasn’t supposed to when she was bored. And, for some strange reason, thieving brought a smile to her face, especially the kind that took from the stupid rich. So she finally put her little thoughts and half made ideas together and started to, well, recruit.
And first up was Jake Pentecost, former black market dealer.
“Sure, we can call it that,” she said, letting him come down to her at the base of the steps. When he was close enough, she reached over and looped one of her arms through his and tugged him along, as they walked away from the library, which had just been a meeting point for them. “Bet you’re wondering why I called you,” she said, when they had fallen into step with each other and made their way toward quieter streets.
"Clearly not to actually check out books," he said, amused, easily allowing himself to be pulled along. "We're not going to the aquarium, are we? I think I might be banned." He didn't offer further explanation, just tilted his head toward her as they walked. "Was it for the arm candy? I am happy to oblige."
But maybe he should actually find out the answer. "Nah, really. I am curious."
“Patience,” Margo said, smirking as she looked up at him. Even with heels - not her usual sky high ones that she wore out on the weekends, but more modest sized ones she favored for school and walking around - she was still a lot shorter than Jake and had to strain her neck to look up at him. “I hear you had a habit of making friends with the...morally bankrupt crowd, back in your world. Have you made any similar friends here?”
She had to figure out if he would actually be useful in her adventures, before she actually revealed what she was planning on doing. No need to involve more people than she needed. God, though how useful would have Kady been if she hadn’t been thrown into the past?
"You're asking if me, an upstanding member of society who recently came to the aid of the defense team in their time of need, has made friends with morally bankrupt individuals?" Jake asked, brow raised as he looked down at Margo, before relenting.
"It's like you already know me," he replied. Of course he was going to get a feel for this place. All aspects of it. A little information never hurt anyone. "I may have met one or two people who fit that description."
He cocked his head at her, wanting to know why without flat out asking.
Margo was a cheater who had watched the Pacific Rim films. She may have blocked out most of the second movie for how they did her girl Mako dirty, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t kept watching for John Boyega’s face. So, of course, she had picked up on a few things from it, including how useful Jake could be for her now.
“Mm,” she said, letting her mind weigh the pros and cons of going forward with her next ask. Then she sighed and relented. “Say someone needs to move a piece of jewelry quickly, a piece that fell into her lap without warning. Would one of those two individuals you’ve met be able to help move it quickly and quietly?”
She was guiding them in a certain direction, toward a part of town where the more affluent members of society lived. But she didn’t look around to see where they were going, merely kept her gaze focused on Jake as she awaited his next answer.
"Who are you," he half asked, half questioned, clearly amused and impressed by Margo. Sure, he had rejoined the military and fit right in, but that was then and this was now and this was more fun.
"Hypothetically speaking, I assume?" he asked. "Probably, for a fee."
“Depends on who you’re asking,” Margo said, fluttering her eyelashes. “Margo Hanson, either your worst nightmare or your best friend.” And if Jake could pull this off, he’d be in the latter category.
“Hypothetically speaking, I need you to find out for sure. I’m not willing to go over 10% of its worth though, so don’t bother if their answer doesn’t match mine,” she explained, as she slowed them to a stop in front of a set of gates.
"I can always use more friends," Jake said, easily. "And ten percent is too much. I can keep that down." He had his ways, even if one would have never known when it came to him bargaining for Oreos.
As they stopped, Jake cast a sweeping glance over the area, taking in the details before he turned to Margo awaiting further direction.
Margo grinned, letting go of Jake’s arm. Giving him a long lingering glance, sweeping her eyes up and down his profile, she nodded to herself. “Then I think we can work together, bestie.” She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “See the stupidly big mansion behind me? We’re going to rob it.”
Jake let out a low whistle. This had escalated from needing jewelry fenced to apparently full on robbery. If only his famous father could see him now. He'd stolen before, of course, mostly out of necessity but sometimes for his own amusement. This would definitely qualify under the latter.
"When?" he asked, wanting to know how much preparation was going into the affair. He had a feeling the answer wasn't immediately, though with a bit of research into the alarm system, they could probably pull it off. Something told him that Margo was a bit less reckless. Harley, on the other hand? He'd believe she'd try it.
“Wednesday night,” Margo answered, offering her arm to him so they could link up again and continue on their walk. “They’re a benefactor to the Vorerra coven and I have a bone to pick with them. So I’m hitting them where it hurts - in their pockets. They have some magical barriers on the perimeter and I got one of their security boys drunk enough to tell me about their security measures on the inside. I just need to get a few more anti-magic measures, but I should be ready by Wednesday night.”
Reaching over with her free hand to pat Jake on the chest, she asked, “How’s your flirt game?”
Jake took her arm and listened intently. Magic he was no good with but fortunately, that wasn't what he was there for. Flirting, on the other hand. That he could do. Still, he couldn't help but answer, "Terrible. I'm a virgin. Tragic, really."
He glanced at her, amused. "I can manage. Even better if there's alcohol involved. We are just talking flirting, yeah?" Not that he really thought otherwise, but since he'd mentioned alcohol he wanted to be clear that's what he was talking about.
“Just flirting,” Margo clarified because she wasn’t in the business of taking advantage of people like that. She’d cut the bits off anyone that was. “Want to grab dinner and talk a game plan?”