Masks Off (c)

[Risk]

Clinking glasses, Risk was in his element. He was glad to finally get away from the newsies. He was getting tired of being undercover and needed a break from it all. Dressed in his normal clothes (which wasn't too far off from what he usually wore as a newsie), he found the time to meet up with the rest of the police crew. And what else would be better than having a few drinks while catching up?

Finding that his drink was empty, he made his way over to the bar to get a refill for his mug, anxious to keep the night going.

[Wraith]

There's something off about the new guy. Think you could tail him a bit? Those were practically Goblin's last words to Wraith before the Ericson plot unfolded and he got thrown in the Refuge again. And now that she had seen him there, knew he was terrified, had no idea how to get him out, she thought she might go crazy if she didn't do something for him--so she'd started following Risk.

At first she'd figured it was stupid, just another plot Goblin had cooked up because he was bored. The only ways her brother really knew how to interact with people were to analyze them, mess with them, or direct them to carry out his schemes. And she'd been bored all morning, watching this kid sell papers and chat with fellow newsies and head to a bar in Brooklyn to unwind...

With a bunch of cops. Wraith stared from her table in a shadowy corner in utter disbelief. She felt her whole body go hot, then cold. Her heart pounded and her mind raced. Well, she would sure as hell never doubt Sebastian's instincts again. Normally, she would have been out of this place and back across the bridge in the blink of an eye, but she was half-crazed with worry for Goblin, and that meant that ruthless anger drowned out fear. She got up and strode deliberately over to the bar to order a drink. He would see her, he would recognize her, and she knew it.

[Risk]

Risk nodded a smile at the bartender and grabbed his now full drink. He was about to make his way back to the table but something familiar caught his eye. His feet froze when his eyes caught sight of the small blonde girl only inches away from him. Clearing his throat, Risk pretended as if it were nothing and took a swig of his drink.

[Wraith]

Wraith took her own drink calmly, sipped it, and smiled at Risk. "Clara Pearson. Pleased to meet you. Had a long day? Hunting desperate criminals and all? I never could resist a man in uniform." She stepped right up to him, beaming and flirtatious, hand never swaying from the switchblade tucked into her pocket. "If you want, we can go somewhere private."

[Risk]

Risk narrowed his eyes at her, keeping his calm before figuring out what to do. Setting his drink back on the table, he put on his most charming smile as he gently took her hand and twirled her around only to pull her closer to him. He glanced over at his buddies and winked at them. Believing his little charade, they whooped and cheered as Risk picked her up and took her outside.

[Wraith]

The second they were outside the bar, she slipped out of his arms, landed nimbly, and had her knife out before he could blink. "Don't fucking touch me again," she advised, her face stone-cold now. "My brother knew there was something off about you. Said you were too curious about all the other lodgers. Learn anything interesting yet?"

[Risk]

"Lucky for you, no," said Risk calmly, looking at her knife as if it were nothing. He leaned on the wall as he lit a cigarette.

"But I have heard of something. It's just finding out who did what." He looked at her pointedly, figuring that she'd know what he was talking about. There'd be no other reason for her to be this jumpy.

[Wraith]

"Yeah. Well, I know you've lied to everyone in the lodging house, you're working on getting half of us arrested, and you were all over Spot Conlon's girl at Irving Hall," she added for good measure, backing up the whole time she was speaking. "You'll probably be dead by tomorrow if I tell the right people, and if I turn this corner, you're never gonna catch me. So maybe you shouldn't be doing the threatening here."

[Risk]

"I haven't done anything, have I?" said Risk, moving closer towards her. He was surprisingly calm as he kept his eyes on the girl. "I haven't spilled the beans and the information I know is not worth fighting over... not even worth getting arrested for. Manhattan is too tame."

He paused, blowing out the smoke in her face. "Of course, I'm sure you know about how Ericson died."

[Wraith]

She continued backing up, braced to make a run for it if he reached for her, went for a gun, if he tried anything. Ideally, she should just run now--lose him in the alleys, get back to the lodging house, tell them everything, and let them deal with the traitor--but another option had occurred to her.

She smirked when he mentioned Ericson. "Oh, yeah. That saintly old police chief. I could tell you stories...but I'm just some washed-up whore, so I'd doubt you'd believe me." She sprang up on a fence around some tenement yard, staying stubbornly out of reach and clutching the knife. "And now I have a really good reason to want you dead, so you can we start negotiating?"

[Risk]

"Saintly is the last thing Ericson could ever be," growled Risk. He hated Ericson with a passion and was secretly happy when he found out he was dead. He gave cops a bad name and disliked him for it.

"What do you want, kid?" he muttered, getting impatient with her theatrics.

[Wraith]

"I want you to get my brother out of the Refuge. And keep us out of your little reports." She refrained from mentioning that she intended to have Goblin talk to Risk once he was free. If Goblin thought he'd stick to their deal, so be it. If Goblin thought he'd turn them in--well, she was sure Tristan would lend her his gun again.

[Risk]

"And what do I get out of it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Keeping a story this huge would be crazy. Then again, his neck was on the line.

[Wraith]

"I won't tell anyone about you," she said simply. "And if you think Manhattan's tame, wait'll you see what happens if I do."

[Risk]

Not telling anyone about him would be too easy.

"Right," chuckled Risk as he took a drag out of his cigarette. "How about this? You help me find someone that I'm looking for since you're so good at finding things, apparently. She's a newsie."

((Gotta run! <3))