Don't Fear The Reaper (Jubilee)

[Bella Donna]

It was strange being on the receiving end of one of these little conversations, and just a little unsettling. Until now he had never really ventured further than New Orleans, never having too, and so it was up to other Assassins to alert her to their presence. Courtesy and manners had led her to contacting the ‘local business’ and arrange a meeting, to negotiate certain boundaries. She was prepared if the meeting were to turn a little sour, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Assassins could be very reasonable when they wanted to be, it was just those damn hot headed thieves that were the problem. They had a lack of finesse, of class that Assassins worked so hard for, only some achieving the right amount.

She sat in the corner of the restaurant her chair facing the front door so she could look at each person that came in. It also meant that it would be harder for anyone to sneak up on her. In this business you didn’t get points for being trustful, it was always better to be ready for the worst. The black coffee in front of her sat untouched as she appeared to read the book in her hand, her eyes glancing at the entrance every now and then.

[Jubilee]

Even living out in Salem County, Jubilee had been resolved not to let her fashion standards slip. That meant keeping it real, keeping it colourful and most of all - keeping it Cali. What she wore in her leisure time anyway. What she wore when she was on the job was a completely different matter. And ok, Aunt Hope had made her tastes grow up some. Meant Prada instead of Adidas, Louis Vuitton and not whatever crap she dug out of a Target bargain bin.

In order to make an impression on the interloper/rival coworker, Jubilee was dressed to kill in her own way. Even if that was by blinding with her cropped yellow trenchcoat on first sight before going in for the slamdunk shot. Super-skinny leg designer jeans, bright pink Raybans aviator-stylin', faux-military sleeveless buttoned shirt and a pair of Zap Jimmy Choos high heeled sandals. After all, who could resist a pair of heels that had step-activated lights in the stilettos? Not her, that was for sure!

Stepping into the little cafe, Jubilee lifted her Raybans and swung her eyes over the clientele. There was really only one person it could be - the woman who sprang her predator radar in the corner. Back to the wall, in view of the front.

Also, she matched the mugshot in the folder Aunt Hope had given her to read over to prep for the meeting.

Swinging her hips and adjusting her handbag, the Chinese-American teen sat down at the table with the New Orleans assassin. "Hiya, been waiting long?" she said chattily, dropping her handbag onto the table and pulling out a bit to get her back away from the window and give her a similar view to one her visitor already had. It helped to know Brad was watching the cafe through sights too. "I'm Lee. Nicetameetcha."

[Bella Donna]

She had seen the fashion travesty walk in but paid no attention to the girl as she was clearly not the person she was waiting for. Probably some ‘cool’ student who thought that standing out meant blinding people with fluorescents in a bid for attention. However without any warning the teenager sat down at her table and she had to fight the instinct to shield her eyes as the light hit her coat. Closing the book she was about to remind the girl that this was a café and not a rave club which she was sure to find further down the street when she introduced herself.

No. This couldn’t possibly be the girl she was waiting for, they wouldn’t dare to send some wet behind the ears bubblegum teenager to negotiate with a prestigious Assassin leader like herself. Unless they were watching of course, waiting to see her reaction. It was likely because surely this…child couldn’t be as high up to be in charge of such discussions. Maybe the real big boss would present themselves later on once she had proved to be…amenable to their restrictions. At the same time she was reminded that at this girls age she was fully capable of carrying out a job perfectly, so despite appearances, she should probably watch herself around the girl.

Probably.

“No, not long,” she said and smiled politely, noting that the girl changed the position of the chair she had sent out prior to her entrance, clever girl, she held out her hand, “Bella Donna Bordeux, New Orleans Guild. T’ank ya fo’ takin’ de time t’see me. Can I get yo’ a coffee or somet’in?”

[Jubilee]

Jubilee could just see the wheels turning in the woman's head, and in particular the wrenching stutter her appearance set up in there. She did get over it, and was willing to be polite so Jubilee was gonna let it pass. Besides, the way she dressed was kind of aimed at getting that reaction. Looking useless and doing it in a really obvious fashion meant that no one paid attention to her and Aunt Hope. To most people, they were just a household made up of the stereotypes of Old Rich Bitch with matching Asian Princess Mean Girl and their Stoic Butler.

Stereotypes were camoflauge.

"Welcome to Bayville," Jubilee said as she shook Bella Donna's hand briefly. Running her fingers through her bangs, she nodded to accept the out of town assassin's offer of a drink. "Chai latte, thanks. So, New Orleans, huh? Taking a break from running the family business?"

[Bella Donna]

The handshake had been so brief it was hard to tell if the girl had anything hidden up her sleeve, which had been the purpose of it. It was an excellent place to hide a weapon no matter how high up the sleeves were rolled, but she hadn’t been able to get a read on it. Well she would just have to go blind on this one and simply sit on the assumption that the girl had a weapon. It might seem a little unfair but it was always better to expect the worse than been left bleeding at a coffee table. Smiling politely at the girl as she accepted her offer, she motioned to a passing waiter and relayed the girls order, asking for another coffee at the same time, since the other had gone cold.

She wasn’t the surprised that the girl knew where she was from, there were a number of factors that could have alerted her. The accent for one thing, a certain laid back attitude from the hot weather that couldn’t be completely contrived. More likely though it was because the girl had a lot of information on her stating exactly where she was living, born and possibly the hospital, ward and bed number.

“Just a small holiday,” she said sitting back in her seat and resting one hand on the table, the other under it, “It’s purely fo’ information, I don’ plan on doin’ any business up here. But den…yo’ know what dey say ‘bout de best laid plans. And de work always manages t‘catch up wit ya‘…or rather…sometimes ya jus’ catch up wit de work.”

The smile dropped a little and she said, “T’ings in New Orleans has been slowin’ down recently anyway, always does around dis time of year. How are t’ings here?”

[Jubilee]

It was completely correct for Bella Donna to assume Jubilee had a weapon. It just wasn't as conventional as a knife in an arm sheath, or a gun in a shoulder holster. When she could blow her way through a thick steel door with her power globules, anything else was almost overkill.

She totally had piano wire in a spool in her watch though.

"Work does catch you at the most inconvenient times," Jubilee agreed, not sure if she believed Bella Donna about her being on holiday. That she didn't have anything planned at this minute, she was willing to concede that. However, it wasn't really up to her to believe her, Aunt Hope would decide what she thought about Bella Donna and decide a course of action from there.

"Things are fine here - being independent brings in a lot of business from the city. People like to hire outsiders for the dirty work, ya know? Families especially." Jubilee looked up as the server delivered their drinks to the table, smiling a thank you before picking up her drink and sipping at it. "Obviously, if anyone contacts you with a contract, it'd be better if you checked in with us first before taking them up on it. Just to make sure things stay civil."

Her tone was bouncy and bright, all SoCal fersure Valley Girl but her eyes were glacial behind the Raybans. She smiled at Bella Donna all the same, white and sparkling teeth exposed. It hadn't escaped her notice that the other assassin had a hand below the table but she was pretty confident in her ability to take the blonde's hands off at the wrists if she had to.

And if she missed? Well, Brad was outside with a sniper rifle and Bella Donna would never see Bourbon Street again. If Brad missed, she was pretty sure Aunt Hope would wipe the pavement with the woman's blonde mop.