Wisdom. Pete Wisdom

[rabbit]

"What do you MEAN, she's back on the island?! I only just blew the bulk of me savin's on gettin' here!... Yeah, well sod off yerself!" Pete Wisdom, trained spy, lethal weapon - handsom devil - pressed the off-button on his cellphone and none-too-carefully stuffed it into his jacket pocket. "Toerag. Can't do his end of the job proper."

Running a hand through his black, messy hair, Pete pulled his trusty pack of cigarettes out of his breast pocket. He flipped the top of the carton off and did a quick inventory check. Three left. That would last him for the next hour and a half.

He had been searching for a Dr. Moira McTaggart. He didn't know why, but since he woke up that one morning in a pub he didn't recognize, he had felt the need to seek her out. He didn't recall ever meeting this woman before, but he seemed to know her. It was strange.

Perhaps someone had drugged him, or something.

So now he found himself in a 'bar'. In America. And he had no bloody clue where to go next. Since his 'intelligence' (who was some computer geek with a Q complex) fouled up, he was stuck. So Pete did what he always did in a tight spot - He ordered a few pints, and planned on figuring things out with a hang-over in the morning.

Pete Wisdom wasn't a socialite by nature, but after a couple of drinks, he'd talk to anybody. He turned his head to the side and noticed, to his delight, that there was a rather attractive young woman standing at the bar beside him. "Good ev'nin', love." he greeted with a friendly smile. "Can I buy ya a drink?"

[Dazzler]

The air was thick, smoky. Not her usual spot, out of her way as it wasn't even in Bayville, but Ali liked the place. It had atmosphere. And an empty stage in the back. She'd been working to spread the name of Dazzler, something she did whenever the opportunity arose. With graceful steps, donned in tight jeans that hugged all the right spots and a low cut black top, she approached the bar, looking for the owner. She had a proposition for him, and she was dressed for a yes.

She stopped at the bar, standing as she waited for someone who might be of aide in her quest. As she waited, someone had in fact taken notice of her.

The man gave her a friendly greeting, black hair messy and a shadow on his face. British, by the accent, like Jono. She smiled back, before he upped the offer to more than words.

"If that's what you'd like..." She replied, rather than saying a plain old 'yes'. She looked him over, her smile widening as she slid onto the stool beside him, rather than standing around.

[rabbit]

He gave the bartender the peace sign, indicating that he was ordering two more drinks. The man looked at Pete, then at the empty mugs beside him. He shook his head in shame, but set out two more drinks.

If he was going to waste the rest of his money, he was going to make it worth while. He pushed one of the mugs toward his new companion. He was grinning to himself, feeling relieved that she hadn't lashed out at him, or called him a pervert.

He noticed that happened quite a bit lately...

"Allow me to introduce meself. Name's Wisdom. Pete Wisdom." he said in a slightly slurred voice. He hadn't come close to reaching his limit yet, but he was still noticably sloshed.

[Dazzler]

At the glass was slid before her, Ali nodded to her new friend in thanks. The bartender had already walked off before she could pass on the message to talk to him or whoever the boss was later. She was very appreciative of free beer. People had a bad habit of not selling it to her because she was just a little too young. Well, this guy was British. She was past that age limit already.

"Ali Blaire." She replied with a grin. The odd tone in his voice was easily written off to the alcohol he already had downed. So he was a little drunk, never stopped her from interaction before. She offered her hand to Wisdom, already starting the next words to strike up conversation.

"Nice accent. What brings you over here?"

[rabbit]

"Nice makin' your aquaintence, Blaire. Cheers!" He downed half of his beer in one gulp. He set the mug down on the counter again, and turned to Ali as she asked her question. "What am I doin' here?"

It was a fair question. One that Pete would like to have answered as well.

"I was hopin' to meet up with one of me, er... friends. I heard she was in New York a while ago, but it turns out she's bugga'd off again. So now I'm kinda... stranded."

He looked thoughtfully at his hands for a moment, then went back into conversation mode. "So, how 'bout you? What's a bird like you doin' out late by herself?"

[Dazzler]

The punk nodded simply before taking a drink, though she made nowhere near the dent on the contents of the glass compared to him. He'd soon be to a state more than a little drunk.

"She left? She's either real rude, or I'm guessing this was a surprise visit, and now you're stuck..." Ali shook her head slightly. She felt sympathetic for the poor guy, to an extent.

"Don't worry, it's not past my bedtime." She joked, almost pouting before she smiled. This late? Ha! "I came to see about bookin' a stage."

[rabbit]

"Actually," Pete fought off a burp. He didn't want to seem completely crude infront of this... lady. "I'm not totally sure I've actually met this woman."

Pete found himself getting wound up over the results of his search. He popped a cigarette in his mouth without even bothering to ask if Ali minded. He didn't care. He needed a fag. He lit it and let the smoke burst into his lungs, giving his brain the hit of nicotine it so desperately wanted.

Ali mentioned booking the stage. "What'd ya need a stage for? You a dancer, r'somethin'?" he asked. Smoke billowed out of his mouth and nostrils as he spoke.

[Dazzler]

Ali immediately raised a brow at his comment.

"You don't know her any you came across continents for her...?" That was more than a little weird, if not creepy. As...charming...as he was, nothing about the man screamed the stalker type. Still, most people she'd ever known or heard of didn't do that.

Giving him a wary eye for a moment, she reached aside, glad for the alcohol. It had its merit at times of oddness like this. It was also a welcome distraction as she watched a cloud of smoke form in great swirls beside her as he not only lit up, but spoke in a dragon imitation. Wasn't that just lovely... Giving him a flat look, she found herself leaning farther away from the flirting.

"I sing." She explained seriously. She didn't appreciate the connotations of his assumption.

[rabbit]

The way she answered his question indicated that she was giving Pete the cold shoulder. Well, how'd ya like that?! I buy her a drink, an' she acts like I'm some... predator!

"Hey, whatever turns ya crank, luv. I didn' mean nothin' by it." he finished off the rest of his pint and added the empty mug to the collection he had started. "Singin', spyin', it's all money."

Loose lips, Pete. He didn't even realize he had given away his occupation until after the words slipped. But by the time they were out, he really didn't care. It wasn't as if he was actually on a mission for Black Air. Hell, he wasn't bloody likely to work for them ever again! "This woman I was afta' *hic*. McTavish- err McTaggart. I was hopin' she'd be able to answa a few questions fer me." he took in another drag from his cigarette, and flicked the ashes into the designated tray. "Bloody waste of time, this trip was. With my luck, I'll get suspected of illegal immigration, and get deported. Wouldn't THAT look bloody fabulous on my resmume."

He was getting more drunk, and rambling because of it. If the singin' bird had a problem with that, she was welcome to leave. Pete finished his cigarette, and immediately lit another one.

[Dazzler]

Ali shrugged, her expression softening as she took another swig from the glass.

"Eh, I get crap sometimes." She explained her reasoning for the harsh change in attitude, not really apologizing for the wrong assumption. She raised a pierced eyebrow as he spoke. Spying? She tried not to snicker as her mind, the same part that had transformed an innocent comment on Jono's part to Jubilee the Dom, turned it into something else. She'd never met a real spy before, so the wrong one seemed more plausible. Money, though, it would seem he really did practice the profession...

"MacTaggart? That wouldn't be a Chris or a Doctor., would it? Geez, didn't know they left."

As Pete rambled on about his wasted trip, she listened. Not like telling him he shoulda maybe asked around before coming would be pointless.

"Eugh, that'd suck. Any problems, just tell 'em you're on vaca, or something."

She wished she knew how international travel worked to be of more help, but it didn't make the knowledge come to her.

[rabbit]

Ali's question caught Pete completely off guard - not that there was much of it intact after imbibing that much alcohol. He began coughing and choking on his own cigarette smoke. It was quite a funny sight, actually. His blue, blood-shot eyes bulged as he tried to catch his breath again. "Wot?! Y-... You know Dr. MacTaggart?!"

He mentally swore to himself. This girl had better not been yankin' his chain. He didn't like it when people messed with him. His voice got quite low as he motioned for Ali to listen closely. "Now, tell me straight, luv. Do you know Dr. Moira MacTaggart? An' if you do, tell me where can I find 'er."

[Dazzler]

The last thing Ali expected was for the man beside her to go into a fit after the question, looking comically half ready to turn blue as he coughed and sputtered, at one point looking ready to inhale the cigarette itself. She would have laughed, but he was a little to serious in his startled state to get all the humor from the sight.

After his initial parroting, Pete motioned for her to listen, dropping his voice. Ali leaned in slightly, attentive as requested when he finally spoke.

"Here's what I know: the daughter, Christine. Said her mom was Dr. MacTaggart, I don't know about tho Moira part. Accent, like Scottish or English or something, if that's any kind of identification. Last I knew, you could find the daughter at the Xavier place. This was a few weeks back, but she said the doc was at some guy's place, but should be back as far as I know. Apparently, though, my info's not up to date enough..."

[rabbit]

"Damn..." Pete growled to himself. It was high time he learned how to use one of them sodding computers. He had a general distrust toward technology. He didn't trust people much either, but it was easier to get information out of another human being than one of those bloody machines.

Computers didn't respond to gun-point.

He had to find Xavier, then he'd be back on track. Easy enough. It wasn't like some super secret intelligence agency was out hunting the man down or anything. "Well," Pete tossed the last of his American change onto the counter, "since I'm good and pissed, I think I'll 'ead home." he flashed her a drunken, debonaire smirk. "It was nice meetin' ya, Blaire. Good luck with the uhh... opera singin'."

He slipped off his stool and slung his black suit jacket over his shoulder. Home was a seedy hotel room with a cot, and a really big cockroach. There were worse places to sleep, Pete figured. He had actually found himself laying beside a dumpster with a cat on his head that very morning.

"See ya around, luv." Pete staggered to the door of the bar, nearly tripping over himself and several stools and chairs on his way by.

((If you want to continue this, Ali could follow. Or you could end it with your next post. It's totally up to you.))

[Dazzler]

Ali wasn’t too surprised by his reaction. She had helped him as much as she could; from there, he was on his own for the search. She hadn’t exactly kept in touch with Chris and that crew, she had no clue what was going on with them nowadays.

Returning his smile, Ali wondered vaguely at his word choice, noting that as he now grinned, he didn’t seem angry, before it clicked what he meant. Heh, oops. She was glad not to have said anything aloud. She laughed as he brought up opera. At least it was better than country.

“Yea, see you, Pete.” She offered parting words with a friendly smile as she watched him move for the exit. She cringed a moment later as he stumbled only steps into his journey. He seemed to recover. He’d be fine, she thought, before he hit the stool. Then the other stool. Grabbing the glass on the counter, she knocked back the last few sips before sliding off her own seat. With a somewhat quickened pace, she caught up to him, wrapping her slender, tattooed arm around his own to stabilize him, and hopefully avoid that one table...

“Funny running into you again,” She greeted quickly, still smiling as she to him, though her next question was more serious than it sounded. In concern for him and likely anyone else on the road, she wanted to confirm as she escorted him out the door. “You don’t have a car, right?”<br>

[rabbit]

"Who puts furniture where someone is goin' t'walk, honestly!" Pete ranted as he banged his shin on yet, another bar stool.

He felt an arm wrap around his. Slightly bewildered, Pete turned his head to the side to see who was 'escorting' him out. He hoped it wasn't another bouncer. He'd already met more of those than he should like.

It was Ali. "'Ey, small world." he grinned. "I was jus' gonna jog back to the motel. It's good fer me lungs. Besides, you mad Americans drive on the wrong side of the road."

As the exited the bar, a thought (oh do miracles ever cease) crossed Pete's mind. "Hey, wot abou' stagin' that book you wanted? You ain't gonna walk me home, are ya, luv?"