Blind Date [Catwoman]

[Red Hood]

Players: Red Hood & Catwoman
Location(s): Gotham's east end
Plot Summary: A new gang in town draws the attention of Red Hood and Catwoman.

The Red Hood drew back on the thick rope with such force that the rope bit through his gloves. A quick knock was worked into the long length of rope before Jason took a step backward and looked over his work. Dangling from the street light above was a bundle of five men all trapped within the web that was a brown hemp rope, their forms not in the most comfortable of positions while hoisted in the air and strung together. The were just a few hoods causing minor neighborhood issues so Jason hadn't really done them anything too bad but they were now going to rest up fifteen feet over the concrete until the cops came along and cut them down.

Taking an eye off of his handy work Jason peered across the cityscape. Lately his days had been slow and there wasn't much crime for the Red Hood to inject himself into, but as he stood there in thought Jason realized there was an entire section of Gotham being neglected. The East End.

It wasn't the most majestic or most beautiful ride but in no time Jason's black and silver motorcycle was charting him off to the east end at great speed. He wasn't looking for anything specific and he had no true plans for what to do once reaching his destination, but Jason knew there would be criminals to greet him, and that meant faces he could punch in. Jason's bike slowed and came to a casual pace as he passed through the East, quick detours taking him to the worst of the worst.

The worst of the worst happened to be the center of a gala. The people of Gotham's east end looking to brighten things up with culture, art, and festivities to be enjoyed late into the night. Street lamps were decorated with lights, streamers hang from the building hosting the gala and traveled all the way down to the entrance walkway. Jason wasn't interested in any of that though, he was more interested in the group of shady looking characters sneaking around the back of the place.

[Catwoman]

"No, Bruce couldn't make it, I'm afraid." Selina Kyle tried to keep any note of pain, annoyance, or longing from her voice as she delivered the news. Unfortunately, she was talking to Leslie - an elderly woman who ran a clinic in the East End, and one of the few people who knew that socialite Selina was truthfully the masked thief, Catwoman. Reformed thief, she amended internally. Leslie regarded her closely over a slender cup of champagne, then broke into a smile. "So where is the charismatic billionaire of yours?"

Probably somewhere in Italy, Selina thought grumpily. On the outside, she kept the image up of a glittering heiress. Leslie, of course, saw right through it. "He's out of the country on business." The older woman pretended to let it go, and instead looked out over the sea of dancing social elite. Then, in a way so casual that Catwoman was envious, Leslie continued. "I'm surprised that you didn't accompany him, considering." Selina wanted to groan in frustration at the same time that she wanted to laugh. She opted for the latter.

Leave it to Leslie. Her little "considering" gibe was slick, Catwoman had to admit. How she realized that Selina's relationship with Bruce was so much more different - in the best way possible - than it had ever been before. Part of the feline felon was actually irritated that she wasn't beside Bruce just then, helping him set up Batman International. She knew how important her presence in Gotham was, and that her eyes and ears helped the Bats keep crime down, but still. Acting as a liaison between Bruce and Richard wasn't what Catwoman wanted.

What did she want? Selina hated herself for coming to the answer so easily: A certain charismatic billionaire of mine. Since when was the princess of plunder such a damsel, pining over some dark knight? "At least someone's amused," Catwoman said. Leslie laughed gently, and then looked at her with eyes that were genuinely apologetic. "Oh, dear, I didn't mean to offend." Selina waved away the bid for forgiveness. "Don't worry, Leslie. I'm quite alright. My work's cut out for me in Gotham as it is."

Who would have protected the East End if Selina was off with Bruce traveling the globe? Sure, it sounded promising, and she had plans to meet up with Mr Wayne in several foreign cities over the next few months for some escapades, but Catwoman took greatest solace in her - for lack of a better term - long-distance relationship with Bruce was that, with her continued presence in Gotham, the East End still had a protector. Maybe not one as morally sound and valiant as the Bats that Selina now fought on the side of, but damn did she make leather work.

[Red Hood]

His back pressed against a stone wall Jason looked around the sharp corner where the persons of interest huddled up and pulled on ski masks. The Red Hood quirked a brow, people still did the whole ski mask thing? He didn't reflect on it too long, the group he was checking was already moving past where the caterers entered and exited. The back door of the gala was not guarded and thus the gang had an easy entry into the party Jason was fairly certain they weren't invited to. He could respect the idea of this little event that the East end was hosting but with their area being perhaps one of the most dangerous zones in Gotham you'd think they would have some intense security around the place. Jason shook his head solemnly as he sneaked after the ski mask gang; leave it to Gotham's elite to skimp on a few extra guards for their own safety.

Jason's right hand crept to the inside of his jacket and upon pure instinct alone he grabbed the handle of one of his pistols, mentally he berated himself before lowering his hand to grab his knife. With a gun he was too inclined to take a killshot, but with his knife he'd be a lot more precise in avoiding long term injury. You're welcome, bad guys. Moving quickly in a crouched position Jason leveled himself behind the door that lay at the back entrance of the gala. He stood slowly, just enough to peek into the small window on the door, and kept himself low enough to be unnoticed by the thugs. Inside the cooking area he spotted the catering team get manhandled and beaten to the floor, had anyone's life looked to be in trouble Jason would have stepped in. Instead Jason just sat back and watched as the caterers were gathered up and stuffed into a large pantry.

The thugs he watched all then pulled off their masks. One of the men trotted over to a table and slung a bag off of his back, from which he pulled a laptop and sat it on top of the table. As the ground of six men huddled tightly around the laptop Jason quickly crept into the kitchen. "Alright so the auctioning starts a little after ten, that gives us a forty minute window. Any of the caterers who were still out there, when they come in you guys grab em and add em to the closet. The auction items are upstairs locked in a vault. The boss only wants this totem thing, says we'll recognize it when we see it," Jason slipped past them and approached the pantry where they had stored the caterers. "He also says we can take whatever we want for ourselves. Slim and Tank, you guys start drillin' the ceiling, and you better be as quiet as two mice. While Reg is watching the door you two go out back and make sure none of the capes run up on us."

The man seated at the table before the laptop turned and glanced at the pantry but there was no one there. Jason Todd, now dressed in a white blazer walked the gala with a food tray in hand. As he served food to the many wealthy and wrinkly faces of Gotham's rich and famous he carefully searched for how he'd get to the second floor. He couldn't waste his disguise, as a part of the catering he belong and thus would have free range of the building but he needed to find how he was getting where he was going quickly.

[Catwoman]

Selina Kyle appeared at complete ease with the proceedings of the gala. She attracted just the right of attention, but remained off to the side with Leslie so that she wasn't too obvious. The balance of blending in and sticking out had been long since mastered by the feline felon. These affairs simply weren't the same without tall, dark, and brooding present. Selina entertained briefly the scene as it would have been if Bruce were present. The two of them would have been blatantly the gems of the bash. Whenever in the past the socialite, and billionaire playboy took to the dance floor, no one could ignore them.

Leslie reached out a hand to herald an approaching man whose appearance was ridiculously similar to a walrus. His stomach protruded several inches beyond the tip of is own nose, which was lost amid the coarse, bushy white mustache that covered his mouth entirely. "Edmund Brutus," Leslie whispered politely for Selina to hear. The name immediately clicked in her mind: a very wealthy individual who owned a pharmaceutical company with footholds in every worthwhile city worldwide. Brutus stuck mostly to Metropolis - definitely less risky to have a fat wallet there than in Gotham. Which is why, perhaps, Selina didn't match name to face sooner.

For a moment she mused over why the man was present. The answer came readily enough, Leslie must be an acquaintance. The elderly woman standing beside Selina had pioneered much of the gala, and pulled out all the stops to get influential businessmen in the door. "My dear Edmund," Leslie said warmly once the walrus was near at hand, "I'm so delighted that you could attend!" Brutus swept Leslie's hand up in his own - beefy and gloved as they were - and pressed the back of it to the bristles covering his mouth. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, surly."

The billionaire's voice issued from his mustache, which was so thick and full the only indication that he was talking came from a vague twitching of Edmund's facial hair. "And who is this sparkling young woman?" Selina extended her hand, though inside she was slightly reluctant, and was given the same rough peck on the knuckles. Leslie went on with the introductions, and Catwoman kept half of her attention on the exchange. Speaking when polite, smiling at the verbose bids at flattery that were angled her way by Brutus, and chuckling when Leslie teasingly rebuked his advances.

Truthfully, Selina was keeping her focus on the progress of the gala. She wasn't stupid. Rarely did one of these events happen within Gotham City without some violence breaking out. Whether it was a costumed criminal, or your average run-of-the-mill street gang, Selina was betting that everything wouldn't go smoothly over the course of the evening. The reason that no one was present representing Wayne Enterprises was because Catwoman had been entrusted to oversee the gala, and step up as the princess of plunder if anything went awry. Another test, Selina thought with an inward sigh.

Honestly, when would Dick stop looking down his nose at her? He was truthfully like a son to her... Alright, an estranged nephew that she didn't get along with, but there was history between them. If I got Bruce's vote, how can I not get his first Toy Wonder? Catwoman thought while she continued to subconsciously engage in the confrontation between herself, Leslie and Brutus. As previously stated: Selina wasn't stupid. She knew that her relationship with Bruce had constantly been a sour subject with Dick. Most likely, Bruce backing Selina's bid at a life as a hero just made Richard want to deny her more.

For a moment, Catwoman thought she noticed a steady lessening of the men and women sifting through the crowds with trays laden with champagne and delicate finger foods. Selina almost broke away to investigate, then she saw a new waiter push out from the kitchen. Quit being superstitious, Catwoman scorned herself, you're just bored.