Post by K.I.S.S. on Apr 16, 2014 21:09:46 GMT -6
Ashley Kenyon wakes up to find herself on a couch that’s not her own in a house she doesn’t recognize right off. She tries to sit up when the light meets her eyes and suddenly makes her notice the splitting ache rocking her skull.
Ashley Kenyon: Aw… shit…
She starts to sit up anyway, trying to ignore the pounding in her head that now sounds and feels like being inside the drums of John Bonham circa Led Zeppelin IV. As she peers around the place, she suddenly realizes where she is.
Ashley Kenyon: NIKKI??
Within seconds, Nikki Peltier comes walking in from the kitchen just up the hall.
Nikki Peltier: You rang, Sleeping Beauty?
Ashley nods, clutching at her head.
Ashley Kenyon: What am I doing on your couch?
Nikki almost laughs.
Nikki Peltier: You passed out in the cab on the way home, right after we dropped off Jezzy at her place actually.
Ashley nods, instantly regretting the movement.
Ashley Kenyon: Did I boot in the car?
Nikki shakes her head, trying not to laugh.
Nikki Peltier: No, you managed to keep it all in.
Ashley slumps back down onto the couch. Just as he gets there, her phone goes off in her pocket.
Ashley Kenyon: Oh, God… please don’t be Bethy checking up on me… please don’t be bethy checking up on me…
Nikki chuckles as Ashley reaches into her pocket and glances at the phone.
Ashley Kenyon: Oh, thank God, it’s only a text…
Suddenly, she sits bolt upright, a smile coming that almost as quickly as it starts, fades into regretful pain.
Ashley Kenyon: Ow… it’s… Billy…
Nikki nods approvingly.
Nikki Peltier: So are you guys “official” yet?
Ashley shrugs, trying to get used to the throbbing that’s still beating her over the head for living it up as much as she had the night before.
Ashley Kenyon: I’d call it that but I don’t know if he would…
Nikki frowns in confusion.
Nikki Peltier: You haven’t talked about it at all?
Ashley tries to shrug but her head barely moves.
Ashley Kenyon: We don’t usually do a whole lot of talking…
Nikki grins knowingly.
Nikki Peltier: So you gonna answer him?
Ashley manages to shake her head.
Ashley Kenyon: Not now… he’s gonna be at Prey tomorrow night.
Nikki stops, the smile slowly fading off.
Nikki Peltier: You’re not gonna go “Party Hardy” with him, are you?
Ashley shrugs looking confused and more than a little disappointed.
Ashley Kenyon: Why not?
Nikki nods over to the laptop on the table sitting in front of the television.
Nikki Peltier: You have to be ready to fight this weekend. Those Dark Camelot people finally said something and it doesn’t look like you’re getting the girls this time. On top of that, the Sin City guys appear to be a play in management position and his assistant.
Ashley shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: So the guy’s a pimp, so what?
Nikki nods to the computer again.
Nikki Peltier: You should watch and check them out. They’re not guys you can just wave at dismissively like those rich pampered pricks you got early.
Ashley nods and manages to stand up and move over to the chair sitting at the table. She opens the laptop and quickly finds the appropriate entries to peruse and view. As she finishes them both, she shakes her head in almost total disbelief.
Ashley Kenyon: Wow…
Nikki nods her agreement.
Nikki Peltier: Can’t just blow them off, now can you?
Ashley shrugs, looking annoyed.
Ashley Kenyon: Since they both pretty much did that to me, why the fuck not?
Nikki steps back looking apprehensive.
Nikki Peltier: Ash…
Ashley shakes her head pointing at the screen.
Ashley Kenyon: No, seriously Nik, the Stalker guy wins one fucking match and suddenly i’m beneath him because… well, he didn’t really have a reason other than I apparently shouldn’t be in the ring in the first place. He couldn’t come up with anything, so he blew me off because I had the audacity to not insult his daughter and her partner and then further had the audacity to say nothing nasty about them this time either while the arrogant pimp spent his time basically blowing us all off because we’re girls and girls aren’t worth anything to him unless they’re sucking and fucking someone and giving him a cut. I’ve always hated pimps because, really, what exactly do they do? They dress like bad rap stars, usually with some fugly ass hat and a cane because somehow having a cane makes you both awesome a bad ass even if all you do is hold it for looks! They do none of the real work, take most of the money, treat their employees like disposable commodities that aren’t really worth their time and then slap them around if they have the temerity to object to their state of being!
She pauses and shakes her head.
Ashley Kenyon: Where do they get this spy bullshit? I understand that Charlie’s Angels was a popular show like thirty-five years ago but aren’t they all kind of proving they’re older than fucking dirt by citing that when they look at us?
Nikki shrugs.
Nikki Peltier: Well, there were the movies and that horrid reboot attempt too.
Ashley groans.
Ashley Kenyon: Ew, nobody thinks of that shit when you say Charlie’s Angels. They all think of Farrah Fawcett and the old show and we are most certainly not Farrah Fawcett!
Nikki smirks amusedly.
Nikki Peltier: I don’t know, Jezzy kinda has her hair…
Ashley’s head snaps around and she glares through Nikki.
Ashley Kenyon: I swear to God, Nik, if you tell me I have Jaclyn Smith’s hair, I’ll kick your ass right here!
Nikki raises her hands, still seemingly amused.
Nikki Peltier: Ok, ok… but…
Ashley points an accusing finger.
Ashley Kenyon: When have we ever claimed to be spies? What, because we inherited Mom’s cutesy name, we must be trying way too hard to look hardcore? Our fucking name is an acronym that looks more like a rock band’s name than a hardass wannabe military group! We were never trying to look more badass and hard than anybody else. Shit, I didn’t think the job here was to look like you could kick somebody’s ass, it was to go out there and actually do it and so far we’ve done a pretty goddamn good job of that!
Nikki nods slowly before indicating the laptop.
Nikki Peltier: so what about that Stalker guy’s machinations in the grave?
Ashley shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: I’m supposed to be impressed because the guy puts on a show, has a few tattoos and does different drugs than us? I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about all that theatrical bullshit, I live in New Orleans, I’ve kinda seen that every day since birth already! The guy beat the World Champion last show, that’s what he should hang his hat on and say, look at me, I’m a bad ass. The girls that hang with me managed to beat you, and now we’re gonna do it again. That’s ALL he needed to say but could he stop himself? No he had to go and do this stupid ass ritual that looked phonier and cheaper than a Roger Corman movie and be like… oooh, look at the blood, the tattoo made of spooky fucking ink… oogie boogie! he’s a big motherfucker who beat the Champ last show but this just looks like he’s decided everyone else is beneath him and he better watch his ass when he does that because that’s how people get punked!
Nikki nods acknowledging the point.
Ashley Kenyon: And the pimp? Are you fucking kidding me? We can come work for him?
She shakes her head, nearly overcome with rage.
Ashley Kenyon: First off, we already have two jobs, one of which he just basically shit all over because we’re girls and he’s not! Our day job, he shit all over too because, what, it’s just as barely legal as his is only it doesn’t involve fucking people at least two ways every time they walk into his establishment? And I get it, he said it just to be a dick and piss us off because he probably figures if he pisses us off and pisses the Camelot people off it’ll neutralize the Camelot guys’ Freebird/Demolition/Jersey Triad rule advantage, which is bullshit in and of itself but hey, mistakes happen and this was one of them. The only problem with that strategy is that you don’t know who you’re pissing off when it comes to dark camelot because there’s a seemingly endless stream of them and up until Stalker knight opened his mouth you have no idea which two were coming for you and in our case, last show pretty much proved we fight better when we’re insulted and pissed off so doing that is pretty fucking stupid strategy! All he really proved is that he isn’t as smart as he likes to think he is and he thinks if he doesn’t put us off that way, he and his partner aren’t gonna hang with these two teams. Motherfucker is scared and he damn well should be! We’ve only lost one match since we got here and Stalker Knight proved he’s on a serious bad ass level in his last match while Philip Tattaglia here is just a pimp who thinks he could never really outfight us! Maybe he’s really good, maybe he’s not but if he doesn’t really believe in his own team, then maybe it’s our job to prove him right and show they can’t!
She shakes her head, standing up straight.
Ashley Kenyon: I need a beer and a training session now, goddammit!
Nikki chuckles.
Nikki Peltier: well, tell ‘em all how you really feel, Ash. You’ve been on camera since you opened the laptop up so they can all see this if you just hit the enter key now.
Ashley glances down and promptly presses the required key.
Ashley Kenyon: Good, fuck ‘em!
Thirty-six hours later…
Ashley Kenyon sits down at a table in the far corner of Prey glancing around the room nervously, anticipating the arrival of her “boyfriend”, Billy Hawkes. She watches as a seemingly familiar all-female band takes the stage, and smiles when a familiar voice greets her.
Billy Hawkes: Hey, Gorgeous!
She turns around to find an unusually well-dressed man standing before her. Billy Hawkes is wearing a red button up shirt with a black suit coat and matching pants with his hair gelled so that the sides look close-cropped and the top is slicked back to make him look more like an actor than your typical petty criminal.
Ashley Kenyon: God I love it when you make yourself look all Colton Haynes presentable just for me...
Billy shrugs.
Billy Hawkes: I figured it was special evening since you have to go to Portland soon.
Ashley brightens up and stands to kiss him.
Ashley Kenyon: I love you…
Billy smiles back.
Billy Hawkes: I love you too, you smoldering fire you…
Ashley nods and then glances back at the stage.
Ashley Kenyon: Who’s playing tonight?
Billy glances up and smiles.
Billy Hawkes: Local group, Birds of Prey, I think they call themselves. Apparently the redhead singing has a sister with a major DC Huntress comic book fetish and figured if they were gonna play here some when the Red Hoods weren’t, it was appropriate.
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: Who is she?
Billy Hawkes: Some model chick, named Kelly… something. The Asia Argento-looking bass player is her girlfriend. That one’s the local one, named…
Ashley smiles.
Ashley Kenyon: Alissa Lacroix…
Billy nods with surprise.
Billy Hawkes: You know her?
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: Bumped into her a few times in school and then when she was in her old band and I was making the scene. Work let us end up in some of the same places even out of town and when two NOLA girls bump into each other…
Billy nods.
Billy Hawkes: I gave them some stuff earlier.
Ashley frowns.
Ashley Kenyon: What kind of stuff?
Billy just nods knowingly and Ashley responds in kind.
Ashley Kenyon: So… are we… ?
Billy nods and quickly leads her out to the back of the building where no one else tends to go. As they arrive, Billy pulls a syringe seemingly all ready to go from his pocket. he hands it to her before pulling a seconds one out along with rubber straps to tie off with.
Billy Hawkes: You’re sure you wanna try this?
She nods, barely noticing the homeless guy a hundred yards away.
Billy nods and helps her tie off. As the needle goes into her vein, Billy glances back by the door.
Billy Hawkes: Shit… here.. just be careful.
He hurries over to check on the door as Ashley hits the plunger. Suddenly, Ashley finds herself face to face with the homeless man.
Homeless Man: Excuse me....can you spare some change?
Ashley glances at him as the stuff starts to kick in.
Ashley Kenyon: What, change what? I... whoa.... damn Billy...
She blinks before absently tossing the man whatever coins she had in her pocket. The homeless man smiles and suddenly appear much less homeless. No longer desperate for anything, his clothes suddenly looking way cleaner than they had at a distance but still with the hair down over his face.
Homeless Man: A word to the wise, by way of thanks for your generosity, if you're not too addled to hear me. It is best not to mess with affairs that don't concern you. Remember that little girl.
Ashley tries to focus but looks down to her feet as she leans against the wall. When she looks up again, the homeless guy is gone and Billy is returning.
Billy Hawkes: Hey… how do you feel?
Her eyes glaze over as a vacant smile comes over her face.
Ashley Kenyon: Spectacular…
She collapses into his arms and Billy kisses her.
Billy Hawkes: I knew you’d love this…
He quickly sits her down and sends himself into the blissful Land of Nod with her, the two of them leaning over onto each other as they enjoy the ride.
Ashley Kenyon: Aw… shit…
She starts to sit up anyway, trying to ignore the pounding in her head that now sounds and feels like being inside the drums of John Bonham circa Led Zeppelin IV. As she peers around the place, she suddenly realizes where she is.
Ashley Kenyon: NIKKI??
Within seconds, Nikki Peltier comes walking in from the kitchen just up the hall.
Nikki Peltier: You rang, Sleeping Beauty?
Ashley nods, clutching at her head.
Ashley Kenyon: What am I doing on your couch?
Nikki almost laughs.
Nikki Peltier: You passed out in the cab on the way home, right after we dropped off Jezzy at her place actually.
Ashley nods, instantly regretting the movement.
Ashley Kenyon: Did I boot in the car?
Nikki shakes her head, trying not to laugh.
Nikki Peltier: No, you managed to keep it all in.
Ashley slumps back down onto the couch. Just as he gets there, her phone goes off in her pocket.
Ashley Kenyon: Oh, God… please don’t be Bethy checking up on me… please don’t be bethy checking up on me…
Nikki chuckles as Ashley reaches into her pocket and glances at the phone.
Ashley Kenyon: Oh, thank God, it’s only a text…
Suddenly, she sits bolt upright, a smile coming that almost as quickly as it starts, fades into regretful pain.
Ashley Kenyon: Ow… it’s… Billy…
Nikki nods approvingly.
Nikki Peltier: So are you guys “official” yet?
Ashley shrugs, trying to get used to the throbbing that’s still beating her over the head for living it up as much as she had the night before.
Ashley Kenyon: I’d call it that but I don’t know if he would…
Nikki frowns in confusion.
Nikki Peltier: You haven’t talked about it at all?
Ashley tries to shrug but her head barely moves.
Ashley Kenyon: We don’t usually do a whole lot of talking…
Nikki grins knowingly.
Nikki Peltier: So you gonna answer him?
Ashley manages to shake her head.
Ashley Kenyon: Not now… he’s gonna be at Prey tomorrow night.
Nikki stops, the smile slowly fading off.
Nikki Peltier: You’re not gonna go “Party Hardy” with him, are you?
Ashley shrugs looking confused and more than a little disappointed.
Ashley Kenyon: Why not?
Nikki nods over to the laptop on the table sitting in front of the television.
Nikki Peltier: You have to be ready to fight this weekend. Those Dark Camelot people finally said something and it doesn’t look like you’re getting the girls this time. On top of that, the Sin City guys appear to be a play in management position and his assistant.
Ashley shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: So the guy’s a pimp, so what?
Nikki nods to the computer again.
Nikki Peltier: You should watch and check them out. They’re not guys you can just wave at dismissively like those rich pampered pricks you got early.
Ashley nods and manages to stand up and move over to the chair sitting at the table. She opens the laptop and quickly finds the appropriate entries to peruse and view. As she finishes them both, she shakes her head in almost total disbelief.
Ashley Kenyon: Wow…
Nikki nods her agreement.
Nikki Peltier: Can’t just blow them off, now can you?
Ashley shrugs, looking annoyed.
Ashley Kenyon: Since they both pretty much did that to me, why the fuck not?
Nikki steps back looking apprehensive.
Nikki Peltier: Ash…
Ashley shakes her head pointing at the screen.
Ashley Kenyon: No, seriously Nik, the Stalker guy wins one fucking match and suddenly i’m beneath him because… well, he didn’t really have a reason other than I apparently shouldn’t be in the ring in the first place. He couldn’t come up with anything, so he blew me off because I had the audacity to not insult his daughter and her partner and then further had the audacity to say nothing nasty about them this time either while the arrogant pimp spent his time basically blowing us all off because we’re girls and girls aren’t worth anything to him unless they’re sucking and fucking someone and giving him a cut. I’ve always hated pimps because, really, what exactly do they do? They dress like bad rap stars, usually with some fugly ass hat and a cane because somehow having a cane makes you both awesome a bad ass even if all you do is hold it for looks! They do none of the real work, take most of the money, treat their employees like disposable commodities that aren’t really worth their time and then slap them around if they have the temerity to object to their state of being!
She pauses and shakes her head.
Ashley Kenyon: Where do they get this spy bullshit? I understand that Charlie’s Angels was a popular show like thirty-five years ago but aren’t they all kind of proving they’re older than fucking dirt by citing that when they look at us?
Nikki shrugs.
Nikki Peltier: Well, there were the movies and that horrid reboot attempt too.
Ashley groans.
Ashley Kenyon: Ew, nobody thinks of that shit when you say Charlie’s Angels. They all think of Farrah Fawcett and the old show and we are most certainly not Farrah Fawcett!
Nikki smirks amusedly.
Nikki Peltier: I don’t know, Jezzy kinda has her hair…
Ashley’s head snaps around and she glares through Nikki.
Ashley Kenyon: I swear to God, Nik, if you tell me I have Jaclyn Smith’s hair, I’ll kick your ass right here!
Nikki raises her hands, still seemingly amused.
Nikki Peltier: Ok, ok… but…
Ashley points an accusing finger.
Ashley Kenyon: When have we ever claimed to be spies? What, because we inherited Mom’s cutesy name, we must be trying way too hard to look hardcore? Our fucking name is an acronym that looks more like a rock band’s name than a hardass wannabe military group! We were never trying to look more badass and hard than anybody else. Shit, I didn’t think the job here was to look like you could kick somebody’s ass, it was to go out there and actually do it and so far we’ve done a pretty goddamn good job of that!
Nikki nods slowly before indicating the laptop.
Nikki Peltier: so what about that Stalker guy’s machinations in the grave?
Ashley shrugs.
Ashley Kenyon: I’m supposed to be impressed because the guy puts on a show, has a few tattoos and does different drugs than us? I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about all that theatrical bullshit, I live in New Orleans, I’ve kinda seen that every day since birth already! The guy beat the World Champion last show, that’s what he should hang his hat on and say, look at me, I’m a bad ass. The girls that hang with me managed to beat you, and now we’re gonna do it again. That’s ALL he needed to say but could he stop himself? No he had to go and do this stupid ass ritual that looked phonier and cheaper than a Roger Corman movie and be like… oooh, look at the blood, the tattoo made of spooky fucking ink… oogie boogie! he’s a big motherfucker who beat the Champ last show but this just looks like he’s decided everyone else is beneath him and he better watch his ass when he does that because that’s how people get punked!
Nikki nods acknowledging the point.
Ashley Kenyon: And the pimp? Are you fucking kidding me? We can come work for him?
She shakes her head, nearly overcome with rage.
Ashley Kenyon: First off, we already have two jobs, one of which he just basically shit all over because we’re girls and he’s not! Our day job, he shit all over too because, what, it’s just as barely legal as his is only it doesn’t involve fucking people at least two ways every time they walk into his establishment? And I get it, he said it just to be a dick and piss us off because he probably figures if he pisses us off and pisses the Camelot people off it’ll neutralize the Camelot guys’ Freebird/Demolition/Jersey Triad rule advantage, which is bullshit in and of itself but hey, mistakes happen and this was one of them. The only problem with that strategy is that you don’t know who you’re pissing off when it comes to dark camelot because there’s a seemingly endless stream of them and up until Stalker knight opened his mouth you have no idea which two were coming for you and in our case, last show pretty much proved we fight better when we’re insulted and pissed off so doing that is pretty fucking stupid strategy! All he really proved is that he isn’t as smart as he likes to think he is and he thinks if he doesn’t put us off that way, he and his partner aren’t gonna hang with these two teams. Motherfucker is scared and he damn well should be! We’ve only lost one match since we got here and Stalker Knight proved he’s on a serious bad ass level in his last match while Philip Tattaglia here is just a pimp who thinks he could never really outfight us! Maybe he’s really good, maybe he’s not but if he doesn’t really believe in his own team, then maybe it’s our job to prove him right and show they can’t!
She shakes her head, standing up straight.
Ashley Kenyon: I need a beer and a training session now, goddammit!
Nikki chuckles.
Nikki Peltier: well, tell ‘em all how you really feel, Ash. You’ve been on camera since you opened the laptop up so they can all see this if you just hit the enter key now.
Ashley glances down and promptly presses the required key.
Ashley Kenyon: Good, fuck ‘em!
Thirty-six hours later…
Ashley Kenyon sits down at a table in the far corner of Prey glancing around the room nervously, anticipating the arrival of her “boyfriend”, Billy Hawkes. She watches as a seemingly familiar all-female band takes the stage, and smiles when a familiar voice greets her.
Billy Hawkes: Hey, Gorgeous!
She turns around to find an unusually well-dressed man standing before her. Billy Hawkes is wearing a red button up shirt with a black suit coat and matching pants with his hair gelled so that the sides look close-cropped and the top is slicked back to make him look more like an actor than your typical petty criminal.
Ashley Kenyon: God I love it when you make yourself look all Colton Haynes presentable just for me...
Billy shrugs.
Billy Hawkes: I figured it was special evening since you have to go to Portland soon.
Ashley brightens up and stands to kiss him.
Ashley Kenyon: I love you…
Billy smiles back.
Billy Hawkes: I love you too, you smoldering fire you…
Ashley nods and then glances back at the stage.
Ashley Kenyon: Who’s playing tonight?
Billy glances up and smiles.
Billy Hawkes: Local group, Birds of Prey, I think they call themselves. Apparently the redhead singing has a sister with a major DC Huntress comic book fetish and figured if they were gonna play here some when the Red Hoods weren’t, it was appropriate.
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: Who is she?
Billy Hawkes: Some model chick, named Kelly… something. The Asia Argento-looking bass player is her girlfriend. That one’s the local one, named…
Ashley smiles.
Ashley Kenyon: Alissa Lacroix…
Billy nods with surprise.
Billy Hawkes: You know her?
Ashley nods.
Ashley Kenyon: Bumped into her a few times in school and then when she was in her old band and I was making the scene. Work let us end up in some of the same places even out of town and when two NOLA girls bump into each other…
Billy nods.
Billy Hawkes: I gave them some stuff earlier.
Ashley frowns.
Ashley Kenyon: What kind of stuff?
Billy just nods knowingly and Ashley responds in kind.
Ashley Kenyon: So… are we… ?
Billy nods and quickly leads her out to the back of the building where no one else tends to go. As they arrive, Billy pulls a syringe seemingly all ready to go from his pocket. he hands it to her before pulling a seconds one out along with rubber straps to tie off with.
Billy Hawkes: You’re sure you wanna try this?
She nods, barely noticing the homeless guy a hundred yards away.
Billy nods and helps her tie off. As the needle goes into her vein, Billy glances back by the door.
Billy Hawkes: Shit… here.. just be careful.
He hurries over to check on the door as Ashley hits the plunger. Suddenly, Ashley finds herself face to face with the homeless man.
Homeless Man: Excuse me....can you spare some change?
Ashley glances at him as the stuff starts to kick in.
Ashley Kenyon: What, change what? I... whoa.... damn Billy...
She blinks before absently tossing the man whatever coins she had in her pocket. The homeless man smiles and suddenly appear much less homeless. No longer desperate for anything, his clothes suddenly looking way cleaner than they had at a distance but still with the hair down over his face.
Homeless Man: A word to the wise, by way of thanks for your generosity, if you're not too addled to hear me. It is best not to mess with affairs that don't concern you. Remember that little girl.
Ashley tries to focus but looks down to her feet as she leans against the wall. When she looks up again, the homeless guy is gone and Billy is returning.
Billy Hawkes: Hey… how do you feel?
Her eyes glaze over as a vacant smile comes over her face.
Ashley Kenyon: Spectacular…
She collapses into his arms and Billy kisses her.
Billy Hawkes: I knew you’d love this…
He quickly sits her down and sends himself into the blissful Land of Nod with her, the two of them leaning over onto each other as they enjoy the ride.
