*I don't own Soundgarden, or the blast from the past which is "Black Hole Sun".
Of course, it wasn't as easy as just sending in an undercover pair once, or even a couple of times. For seven nights straight we shifted between two locations, bringing a different duo of look-outs each time. Our friends were pretty amused by it, though we didn't see the humor.
Karina and Jen insisted on pairing up, for reasons I'm not sure I want to know. Hisui and Kouhei made sense together, and Brandon and Becky felt natural after the way they worked side-by-side on a couple of projects in Okinawa.
They all thought we were being overprotective, and the truth is we were. I know my brothers recognized it as well as I did. It's not that we enjoy expecting the worst. It's because we've seen our people suffer before, for no other reason than being connected with us. What's so wrong with wanting to protect our friends and family anyway? Even if it is an impossible dream.
Jenna held out her hand expectedly to the purple-masked turtle. "Donny, I know the drill. You're not going to give me the entire camera lecture again are you?"
Donatello half-scowled. "No, you're getting a friendly reminder to keep your movements on the slower side. The feed is no good to us if it's constantly blurry."
"What else?" she asked, pushing for a reaction. "Were you going to remind me not to talk to strangers?"
"No," he said crossly. "But don't you dare talk to anyone that you perceive to be a gangbanger."
"Because merely talking to a violent person could induce a painful and instantaneous death," Karina offered.
"Kari, don't make me go through stuff with you again," Raphael warned.
"Lighten up, you guys," the Latin woman proclaimed. "My hermana and I got this."
Don finally handed over the black-framed glasses, and Jenna slipped on the fake lenses. She held back her hair so the turtle could put her earpiece in, and then smoothed it down to hide the bug from view.
"I'm going to give you some random instructions like before, to make sure that you're reading me okay. Don't call me to ask about them; just do what I say."
Jen nodded. "All right. Can we go now?"
"As soon as I set up Karina with her earpiece, Jen." Donny already sounded annoyed.
Jenna's teasing smile faltered when she glanced at Calley. The blond woman was only accompanying the boys on these trips to help identify potential targets over the video feed. The reminder of why they were there washed over the raven-haired woman in an instant, and she decided to stop giving her husband a hard time.
"We'll do whatever you say," she assured him.
Donny gave her his equivalent of a thumb's up. "See you in a bit."
Jenna jumped out of the back of the Battleshell into the alley, and Karina exited behind her.
The bronze-haired woman winked at her. "Are you ready to be ogled by a few guys who've had too much to drink?"
"We can still hear you!" the red-masked turtle yelled through the open door.
Karina shut the back of the Battleshell with a resounding bang. "It's so easy to get him worked up."
"And you don't seem to enjoy it either." Jenna chuckled.
"Never. Let's not waste time, Chica. We need to get a good seat in there."
They were currently located about two blocks away from Kricket's, the chosen "hot spot" for that evening. Jenna wasn't particularly bothered by the seedy-looking neighborhood, but she abhorred the wretched heels in which she was being forced to spend the next few hours. They're instruments of torture. Why do women do this to themselves? I'd like to find the one who started it and wring her neck. You can bet I'd do it too.
Jenna caught Karina gazing at her silently. "What?"
"If you're trying to keep people away from us, that expression ought to do it, Jen."
She laughed. "Why do you like getting dressed up this way, Karina?"
The Latin woman tossed her head with a snort. "You don't think it's a little fun?"
Jen crossed her arms. "The only time I have fun in a get-up like this is when it turns Donny's head. You've got no idea how long it took him to get over his inhibitions toward me."
Karina stretched a hand around her shoulders. "Occasionally it helps to hit a guy over the head, Jen; remind them why they fell for you to begin with. Tonight is only about blending in. You're still in blue jeans – what else do you want?"
"Different shoes would be great."
"It's only a couple of hours, Chica. They won't kill you."
Jenna took a deep breath and relaxeder arms when the tavern came into view. "It's almost show-time then."
The pair picked up their pace to reach the door faster, but Jenna intentionally slowed down when they got inside the bar. I wish we could turn up these lights and make it easier to see people. But then we'd also be able to tell how disgusting this dive is. Everything is a trade-off.
Though it wasn't their first time going undercover for the turtles, it was their first trip that particular bar, so it made sense to take a lap around the room before settling in somewhere.
"I've got a good picture going, Jen."
Jenna flinched, and had to remind herself that she couldn't respond to the bug in her ear.
"The camera is transmitting perfectly, and the angle is clear. Don't sit down right away, girls. Get to know the land."
Jenna and Karina exchanged a glance.
"Isn't it cute how he thinks he has to tell us everything?" Karina stage-whispered.
Jen muffled a chuckle with her hand. "That's one word for it."
The women worked their way through the room casually, as though they were nothing more than two friends out for some fun and refreshment.
"Sweep your gaze slower, Jen," Don reiterated in her ear. "The picture is getting fuzzy."
"Sorry." Jenna huffed without thinking.
"You're sorry?" A tall man with greasy hair lowered his pool stick with confusion.
"Uh…yes, for distracting you from the game," she filled in hastily.
The stranger smiled crookedly. "You're a welcome distraction, honey."
"Just keep moving," Donny ordered.
"We're gonna go so you big men can finish your game," Karina said smoothly, steering Jenna toward the bar.
When they were a few steps away from the pool table, Karina nudged her side again. "Grab one of these stools, and then take a look over your shoulder, Chica."
The raven-haired woman carefully turned her head, and noticed why her partner had chosen that specific spot. The elevation of the bar was higher than the rest of the room, and allowed her a much wider sweep of the space at once.
"That should do it, girls. You need to order something to they'll let you park at the bar, but don't overdo it."
Jenna bit her lip, wishing she had a mouthpiece of her own. She had to be satisfied with shaking her head at Karina. "I'm about to pitch my bug across the room."
"Then he'd just think he needed to come in here after you, hermana. I'll order something. These stools feel like they turn a bit. If you want to try and face me from the side, it'll look more like we're talking and less like we're scoping people out."
Jen nodded. "Whatever you say. Don't you dare give me anything like that drink from the other night."
"I told you I didn't buy it, Jen! That ridiculous biker sent it over. Look before you sip, okay? We're not looking to get buzzed here."
"Tell that to my husband."
Karina shook her head. "I wish he could hear you so badly."
"So do I, Kari. Let the stake-out commence, all right? I want to get home before my babies wake up and have to wonder where I am."
Two hours passed without anything of note happening, and the speaker in Jenna's ear was feeling even more like a buzzing insect she needed to get rid of. She glanced at the front of the bar and wiped away condensation from the neck of a beer bottle. The woman had barely touched the drink, only pulling a sip whenever she felt the bartender looking her direction.
Jenna was tired, but she was also growing uncomfortable with the lack of contact from the bartender. When their profits and tips depend on making nice with the customer, it doesn't make sense to ignore us. I don't want the guy talking my ear off to get me to drink more, but it's still weird.
The strains of a new song starting on the raggedy-old jukebox drew her to look over her shoulder again.
"In my eyes, indisposed
In disguise as no one knows
Hides the face, lies the snake
And the sun in my disgrace…."
Jenna's eyes lingered on the well-built man hovering over the machine, until he backed up to a nearby table.
Karina followed her gaze and exclaimed something under her breath in Spanish. "Since when do they let kids hang out in bars?"
"Kids?"
"Check out Sonny there on Muscles left. Guy can't be more than 18."
She squinted at the younger of the pair, and then looked questioningly at the older one who'd started the juke box.
"Black Hole Sun, won't you come
And wash away the rain?
Black Hole Sun, won't you come,
Won't you come?"
Jen began to turn in her stool, when a sharp voice blasted her eardrums.
"Don't move, Jen!"
The command was so sudden and startling that she nearly tipped over her stool when she jerked.
"What are you doing?! I need you to stay calm, but get the camera back on that guy over there!"
Jenna clenched her teeth furiously and bit back a swear while she corrected her stool. She began to look over her shoulder once more, but now the bartender was standing directly in front of them.
"Are you all right, Miss?"
"I'm fine – feeling a little clumsy tonight is all," she reassured him, flashing a winning smile.
"Don't sound like you're from around these parts," he remarked.
Now he wants to get chatty with me? Good night, Don's gonna blow out my eardrums.
"I'm from Australia originally, Sydney," Jen said dismissively.
"What brought you hereabouts?"
"Jen, you have to shake this guy and get back on the other one! We might have a real target here!"
Jenna reigned in her annoyance with difficulty.
"My parents did first, and then I went and fell for one your citizens," Jenna explained. She yanked her cell phone out of her pocket hurriedly. "And after all these years, he still doesn't trust me. Ten unread messages. Getting so a girl can't go anywhere with her friends."
Bartender nodded understandingly, and let Jenna get back to the fake text messages.
On a whim the raven-haired woman got to her feet, and pretended to be texting while she walked. If she was to head for the jukebox herself, it would force her to go directly past the table of the gentleman in question. She acted like she was absorbed by her phone, and looked up at the last moment when Muscles was only a couple of feet away.
Jenna laughed awkwardly. "I should watch where I'm going, huh?"
Dark eyes observed her for a fleeting second before the man returned his attention to his underage companion. Jenna kept going until she got to the jukebox, then chanced another backward glance.
"I know you didn't go talk to him! I said don't engage, Jenna!"
Jenna's fingers angrily flew across the keypad as she typed a rapid-fire text. "Did you get what you needed or not? I'm about to scream if you don't get out of my ear."
After a moment, Donatello responded. "Don't draw attention to yourself."
Jenna sighed noisily. "I'm not stupid enough to actually do it, Donny! Did you get the picture or not?"
After a few seconds of silence, he returned. "He looks promising – Calley thinks she remembers him. Go back to the bar and wait things out for a few more minutes, then you and Karina can head out."
Jenna started slowly toward the table again, and this time she spied the bright ink of a tattoo peeking out underneath Muscle's cut-off sleeve. She stared at his back for a long moment, and her entire body stiffened when she discerned the head of a snake.
With a deep swallow she began moving again, ignoring their table entirely as she focused on her phone screen. "Did you get that image from his tattoo by any chance?"
"Give me a couple minutes to process it, Jen."
Jenna contained a tremor while she eased back into her stool.
"Didn't find the song you wanted?" Karina asked pointedly.
"Maybe…the jury hasn't decided," she returned. Jenna fiddled with her bottle nervously while she waited for Donatello to come back.
"Okay, Calley definitely recognizes the design. We want to act on this one, ladies. Stay where you are for a couple more minutes, then get up and leave."
Jenna felt relieved on one hand, but nerves rose back in her stomach quickly. They weren't going to be a part of the next phase, but that didn't make her feel better about it. She made eye contact with Karina. "Our 'fun' night is almost over."
"I hope the boys have enough fun of their own."
Jenna pushed away her drink, fleetingly wishing now that she had something stronger. They won't screw this up. There's too much potentially at stake. She unhappily shifted in her high heels, but resisted the urge to pitch them across the room too. Definitely not as much fun as I'd hoped for.