Delilah stared out the window to the clouds in the night sky. She had only slept a few hours, but she was far from drowsy. She was aware of every sleeping form that snorted or moved in their slumber, as well of those who were still awake, from reading, typing at a keyboard, and listening to music.
Grey eyes rolled at the business man sitting to her left was sweating bullets as he scrambled to finish what looked to be a conferrence report and speech about how his company was doing great despite some set backs.
She could also feel the teenager behind her, who had her feet against the back of her seat. The music blaring from the headphones that goth/emo wore, be probably make the girl deaf by the age of twenty. Delilah smirked at the thought, though she knew that it was highly unlikely.
Leaning back, Delilah remembered the last time that she rode in an airplane with Danielle. They were headed to Washington D.C., almost a year ago. Closing her eyes in memory, she ignored all the sounds around her.
Danielle was clinging to the seat, her face as white as a sheet as they hit some hard turbulence. Delilah was sitting in the window seat, since Danielle didn't "want to see how long it'd take us to hit the Earth again," trying not to smile at her twin's terrified expression.
Glancing down, she knew that it would take a good hour for her to regain full feeling in the hand that Danielle was turning white from lack of circulation. "Dan, I need that hand to be functional when we land." softly informed Delilah, making her sister look down in surprise and release her captive.
"Sorry." She blushed slightly as she tangled her fingers together in her lap.
Delilah giggled slightly. "It's fine."
Danielle raised an eyebrow, her face relaxing slightly. "Says the woman who is not afraid of dying in this iron death-trap."
Delilah bit her cheek, trying not to smile. "Oh, I'm afraid, but I know you well enough to know we're survive."
Danielle raised the eyebrow even higher.
Delilah's voice came out amused, though she tried not to. "Yes, the woman who the Grim Reaper refuses to come and collect." Danielle chuckled softly, knowingly.
'When will we be in Seattle?' she pleaded with the Airplane Fairy to be nice this time.
It was almost four in the morning, on this part of the country, which Delilah blamed the sun for. She would have to sleep most of the day away before she had anything to do. Not that she didn't want to visit the tourist attractions, but... that would not the purpose of this weekend. She was going to pay proper respects to to her sister if it killed her.
Delilah dozed off slightly, before the pilot's intercom startled her. "We're be landing in Seattle in twenty minutes, please fasten your seatbelts." he informed the passengers, who groaned and obeyed.
"Finally." Delilah fastened her own seatbelt, ignoring the older business man on her left and the teenager behind her. The plane hit turbulence, but Delilah ignored it with a smile at almost being there.
As other passengers scrambled for their carry-on and out the door in semi-organized chaos, Delilah waited until the plane was almost empty before getting her bag from the overhead compartment and slipping the messenger bag over her shoulder. The flight attendants smiled at her and wished her a safe trip before leaving themselves.
Thankfully, the airport was not full of herds of people heading from area to area, Delilah retrieved her large luggage bag and wheeled it to the rental car place next door.
When she parked at the Best Western, Delilah was exhausted, not in a good way. She was cranky and just wanted to curl up in a bed and sleep until dusk. As she pulled out her carry-on bag and luggage, she breathed in the familiar and yet unique scent of Seattle. It smelt like salt of the sea mixed with the more normal of the city-living. The carry-on bag was carefully placed on the top of the luggage and wheeled toward the front desk to be checked in.
It was bare for the most part. The bar and restaurant were long closed. The only soul was behind the front desk, probably heard her work through the two doors to even get to the lobby. He was dressed in the typical green dress shirt and black slacks. He smiled slightly. "May I help you?" he asked, slightly tired from the tone.
'Poor guy, probably works the all night shift.' thought Delilah as she pulled out her driver's license on the table. "I have a room."
He nodded and took it, looking through the database for her reservation. Eventually, he frowned. "I cannot find one under your name." he looked apologetic and he gave her ID back.
Delilah's eyes narrowed. "I have one at this hotel." she insisted, not wanting to have to in her car and go somewhere else or be charged twice.
The young man cocked his head to the side. "Sorry lady, but we don't have you in the database. Would you like to get a room anyway?" he asked, before trying not to yawn.
Putting a hand to her forehead, Delilah tried to think and then smiled. "I have a receipt." she stated and pulled out a smart phone, opening her email and showing him it. "If you lost my reservation, that's your problem, but I paid for a room." her voice was now very icy as she tried not to scream at the equally exhausted youth.
His eyes squinted as he read the receipt. "Oh, I'm sorry. They must have labeled your name backwards, they do that on the website." he stuttered, as he looked up to Delilah's unbridled glare. "I'll get the key right now, Ms. Joelle." He quickly pulled up her reservation and tried not to shudder as her glare made him feel like he was in a blizzard.
When the card key and the room number were finally given, Delilah released her icy stare. "Thank you." she was overly sweet in her words, which startled the young man. As she turned tail and walked toward her room, he shook his head trying to dispel the feeling of being covered in snow.
Trudging to the elevator, Delilah followed the helpful signs toward her room. By the time she finally reached the damn door, her limbs felt like lead covered her bones.
Opening the door with practiced ease, Delilah turned on the light to illuminate the space. A window directly in front of her to the city view, but with blackout curtains. The queen-sized bed was covered in a hideous beige, blue and green tie-die design bedding. Rolling her eyes, Delilah managed to kick off her tennis shoes, before rummaging in her luggage for a nightgown. Smiling, she closed the curtains and disappeared into the bathroom.
The bathroom was interesting though. It was to the immediate left of the door that allowed a sink inlaid in a cabinet with a mirror overhead with a closet to the opposite side. Then there was a mirrored door leading to the bathtub/shower and toilet, with plenty of room to change for three people. Closing the door, she stripped and showered.
The pleasant warmth of the shower relaxed her muscles, lulling her toward the bliss of sleep. Drying off, Delilah changed into her ankle-length nightgown. Collapsing into the bed, she grinned at the knowledge of tonight.
A female smiled as she entered the club. Everyone was in various states of dress, from bikinis to full body coverings. She winked at a few men, saw her and caught her eye. They smiled and continued dancing in the mash of bodies.
"So this is the underground club, 'Haven'." the young woman stated, very pleased.
The entire building was legit, so police would never be a problem. It just wasn't advertised, because it was a purely pro-mutant night stop. Placed in a huge warehouse, the club offered drinks and lounges open to view, so that no illegal activity could take place. The only place that was not open to the public was the dressing rooms and such for visiting performers and the staff. Safety reasons.
The woman wove through the huge crowd toward the back. She refused to even walk through the backdoor. She smirked as people would pause in their dance when they noticed her, then smiled at her. With a smile plastered on her face, she approached the bouncer guarding the dressing rooms.
His arms were crossed over his massive chest, his cat-like eyes watching her. The young woman winked. "Dancing is a way of life." she stated, before the man would move and allow her entrance.
As compared to the huge crowd of moving bodies, multicolored lights and blaring music, the hallway she entered was fairly void of people, evenly lit and significantly muted the music beyond. Exhaling a breath, she straighten and walked down the hall to a door that was labeled "DJ Tekna".
Opening the door to the already illuminated room, she smiled at the mirror's reflection. She was savoring the moment before Mr. Deju found her. She studied the reflection.
Looking back at her was a young woman, not more than twenty-two or twenty-three. She had light caramel skin, borderline bronze. Wild curls brushed her shoulders, the color of raven's feathers with the shock of neon colored streaks. She had artificially straight purple bangs that she often brushed to the side. Amber contacts stared back at her from the eyeholes of the glitter black mask.
She moved her faces from the face to the rest of her. A bare neck down to the forest green top. Oh, how she loved that top. She wore it rarely, but it was beautiful. It covered one shoulder, but ended three inches above her belly button. The top hem had belt-like loops with a fake attached belt with a large rectangular belt buckle, but below was a cleavage-showing diamond of flesh. Her abs were strokes by gold chains that were sewn on the bottom hem of the shirt, that overlapped and twinkled with movement.
A gold armband on her upper right arm looped around and made her flesh seems more like bronze than it really was. Below a gold and black belly ring, was blue denim booty-shorts. It was barely three inches above pink cotton stockings, with matching arm-warmers. The outfit was complete with a pair of mid-calf leather boots, in a lovely shade of chocolate. The boots had a comfortable three inch heel, in a wedge style.
As DJ Tekna studied her appearance, she was not surprised as a balding older man opened the door and smiled at her. Pink lips smiled back in the reflection and he closed the door.
"There is my lovely performer!" he greeted her with a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Oh, how I've missed you."
DJ Tekna chuckled, returning a kiss to his cheek. "I could see you three days from now and you'd say the same thing."
The older man laughed. "True enough." He gestured to the door. "Do you want to meet your dancers for the night?" he asked, referring to the audience.
Smiling, the young woman allowed herself to be led to stage entrance, the normal house DJ smiled at her as he finished his last song for the night. "Hello everyone." he sang into the microphone. "We have a special surprise for you all tonight!"
The crowd cheered eagerly.
"We have a guest DJ that many of you might have heard of..." he trailed off for effect. "DJ Tekna!"
Going absolutely nuts, the crowd cheered and yelled. DJ Tekna smiled, the house DJ bowing away with a smile. "Hello Seattle!" she greeted the crowd. "Let's get this party started!"
A huge projection screen started up behind her as the new mix of silhouettes. It was her dance routines both old and new. There was added finishes with today's CG effects that upped the ante.
When the crowd was informed by the owner that the club was closed, many started piling out the door. Staff swarmed around picking up discarded cups and other items, some of which made DJ wonder if the owner was going to miss it.
As she turned to go to the dressing rooms, she had a sudden thought. Why not just go to the hotel?
Shrugging, she remembered how badly her manager would freak if he wasn't informed. What he didn't know, might kill him via heart attack. Groaning, DJ Tekna hauled herself toward the door, but saw her manager in the corner of her eye talking to the owner.
Smiling at the prospect of leaving out the back without any trouble, she headed toward her designated room. Grabbing her purse, she held the doorknob turn and quickly hid under the line of those chairs that waiting rooms use, sliding her slender body beneath.
The expensive Italian shoes that entered were most definitely her manager's, who proceeded to pace for a while, muttering things like "Where is she?" and "I hope she's all right."
Trying not to laugh or move, DJ grinned from ear to ear, listening to the poor old man. Her joke didn't seem to worry him too badly, since he was constantly talking to himself. "She'll be alright. She has a black belt." he paused. "Then again, she did end up in the hospital with a broken wrist that one time."
Eventually, Mr. Deju left, allowing DJ to leave her hiding spot. Knowing if she left a note in the open, he might not see it, she wrote a quick note on a piece of paper from her purse.
When she opened the door, the hallway was empty. Cautiously, DJ left her dressing room and stalked down the hall. When she past the door to the back, she could hear some voices, mainly the bouncer and Mr. Deju.
Giggling softly at his obvious waiting point, thinking she must have parked there, DJ walked through the door to the now vacant club dance floor. DJ Tekna smirked as she past a note the bouncer, asking him to give it to her manager. Skipping away from the club, she was walking on air, so to speak. She felt so light and happy. It had been much too long, but tonight was worth the wait.
Unlocking her rental via remote, she checked the alarm, it hadn't been disengaged or set off since she had left it. As she slipped into her rental, she smirked at the rear-view mirror. Tonight, one of the few, would allow her to relax. She didn't notice a shadow in the backseat shift as she drove toward her hotel.
That same night, in a very different location, a slender body slid through a skylight and into a very locked, very guarded building. Her black-clad body spared no heart as she slunk into the shadows.
The janitor, with headphone in, didn't notice a strange form pick a lock and enter an office behind him. The form slid into the rolling chair of one of the cubicles and plugged in a flash-drive.
The computer whirred to life, but the monitor's light was dimmed to a minimum. Gloved fingers eagerly danced away on the keyboard, bringing forth information that made the figure smirk as the hacking program did its job.
"Thank you, Nathan." she breathed as many folders were now open to her access. The Reaper was looking for some soulless people to destroy.