Just as a warning, you should probably prepare yourself for a couple of new character-heavy chapters... :3

Frock Up

"You have no idea how uncomfortable I am right now."

Kia was scowling, tugging at the skirt of her dress to adjust it and finding she only made it worse. Hatter was uneasy too, of course, but not to the same extent; she'd attended this kind of event before. The mod was content enough to just lean calmly with her back on the wall, doing her damnedest to ignore her impractical substitution for boots.

"You look fine, Kia, don't worry," Hatter reassured. "You'll get used to it eventually."

"I don't understand how people are supposed to run in these things," Kia grumbled. Her guardian raised an eyebrow.

"That'd be because you're not supposed to… And hopefully we won't have to today." She looked out at the expansive room built for entertaining parties such as these, noting the presence of yet another dignitary every few metres. Most were gathered in a central area that displayed Evanz's new communicator in an elaborate exhibit but some – like the pair themselves – had drifted toward open space, or the yet-to-be-filled food tables in some cases. Hatter was keeping a sharp eye for anyone who looked out of place, just in case they had an unwanted situation on hand. The people in particular she'd been brought in to protect had not arrived yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Evanz was in the midst of the throng, chatting away politely and promoting the new device, though he barely needed to do that. He had greeted Hatter (and Kia by default) when they had first entered his halls but was immediately distracted by the staff about last minute arrangements of something or the other. The businessman glanced over at them to make sure everything was fine, thanking his good fortune that they had actually agreed to the whole dressing up thing. Part of him fully expected Hatter to just turn up as she normally looked.

"At least your dress looks nice," Kia admitted, gesturing toward Hatter's purple knee-length. The mod looked down at herself in consideration, having trusted her supplier (Katie, obviously) enough to not have even examined the dress closely. A safe square neckline and a full skirt with a petticoat consisting of an amalgam of fabrics – gossamer and the like – in varying shades of purple. To the casual observer it would seem an impractical choice for one with a mission such as Hatter's, but that was only because they didn't appreciate its hidden abilities: an example of such being the pouches hidden in the skirt, holding several of the cylinders she used to fight.

"Yeah, I guess so. But yours is nice too, Kia."

Kia's faced morphed into an expression of both scepticism and derision. "Sure. The dress looks nice until I'm the one wearing it." The only comforting feature she could find was that the upper half felt similar to an ordinary shirt.

"If it makes you feel any better," Hatter pointed out, "your dress is what's known as tea-length." She had a feeling that would persuade Kia's view toward a more positive nature. She was right. The girl's mouth quirked to the side slightly as she deliberated over the dress again. Now that she thought about it, the flat grey wasn't quite so bad, and the sheer overlayer on the skirt was pretty neat too.

The mod found it amusing that all it took was one tiny word to change Kia's mind.

"Well, I guess I can never carry off something fancy, so this'll be the extent of my modelling career," the girl joked, bringing a smile to Hatter's face too.

"Do you want to walk around a bit? There's only so much we can do standing a foot from the wall."

"Okay. Where to?"

"You tell me. Who stands out to you as someone we should question?" It was a little bit of a test, one Hatter hoped she would be able to pass by now. Their tutoring couldn't have been for nothing.

"Uhmm…" Kia scanned the room, thinking carefully about whom to pick. Slightly away from the main crowd stood a pair conversing menially. As she saw them they bid farewell and one walked back toward the throng. "Him," she decided, pointing to the remaining man.

Hatter raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"He… uhhh… he kind of has this shifty look in his eyes?"

"Good enough for me. Let's go." Hatter pushed off from the wall and walked toward the man, who lifted a glass from a passing server and began drinking. She already knew he wasn't a threat but that didn't mean Kia had been wildly guessing – she'd picked up on something very specific indeed. "Remember, just casual conversation to gather an impression. No outright interrogation."

"I'm not stupid."

"Sure."

"Oi."

As they neared the man he tapped his index finger on his glass rhythmically, deep in thought and only aware of their presence when they were right beside him. "Oh shit. Wait – event, got to watch my language, shit. Dammit."

"Gosh darn mister, look at the mouth on you," Hatter jibed, immediately alerting Kia to the fact that the two of them already knew each other. Of course they did. Why did this always happen when she thought she'd done well?

"Shut it, Hatter. What're you even doing here? This isn't exactly your usual hunting grounds."

"You'll figure it out later. For now I'll just introduce you to Kia – Kia, this is OKD. He works in the PR department of Merthyr Inc." She gave an elegant hand wave in his direction.

"Nice to meet you," Kia smiled, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"What is she: your protégé or something?" OKD asked the mod, an air of light disdain in his voice.

Kia's smile widened in a way that Hatter knew was aggressive and her hand tightened around the man's as they shook, to the point of pain. "Friend, actually."

Hatter hid a grin at her ward's demeanour. "Surely Mez told you about her by now? She's the whole reason for this truce after all."

OKD's eyes widened as Kia finally let go. "Wait, this is her? Shit."

"Language," Kia smirked.

"Dammit. Shut up. I have to… go over there and talk to... that woman… I'll see you." He quickly scurried off to hide in the crowd, furtively glancing back over his shoulder to check that Hatter wasn't following.

"What's his problem?" Kia wondered aloud.

"You know, I'm still trying to work that one out. He always seems to run away from me when there are other people about, though not normally with such a terrible excuse."

"How does a Confessions member get into Evanz's company anyway?" It really did baffle her. "I would have thought you'd take measures to avoid that, given the whole enmity thing you've got going on."

"Yeah, well, it makes them a tad calmer to have a man on the inside, vetting the advertisements for subliminal messages or whatever it is that OKD actually does," Hatter loosely explained. "It's better for the long term." She adjusted her loose-knit beanie so that it wasn't pushing hair into her eyes. "Anyway, whom to next?"

"Can't you pick?"

"Nope. Go on."

"Then… that guy?"

Hatter followed the line of her pointing to an unremarkable looking man who was having a lively discussion with several other party-goers. The only thing that stood out about him was the tiny tattoo beneath his left ear, but that was it. Well, she could indulge Kia this once.

They began to make their way over to him with the intent of smoothly slipping into the conversation - the mod would come up with a suitable entry line once they were within earshot of the topic. However, as the pair reached the midpoint of their journey a blond man stepped confidently into their path, blocking their sight completely. The fact that it took both of them by surprise was worrying.

"Hi!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Yes, uh, hello," Hatter stumbled as she attempted to regain her composure after a momentary lapse. "I don't believe we've met before…?"

He laughed loudly, causing more than one person to look their way for a second. "No, of course not. Greetings, I'm Andrew." He took Hatter's unoffered hand and shook it anyway, almost immediately dropping it to shake Kia's too. The girl was unprepared for how vigorous the handshake was but didn't have time to acclimatise before it was over. "How are you enjoying the party? I know, I know, this isn't the kind of mission you prefer, is it, Hatter? But you've got to do what you've got to do. And Kia, you really shouldn't stay up so late at night! It's bad for your health, not to mention the lines under your eyes." He traced an arc in the area beneath his own eyes lightly.

"Wha…" She could barely form any words.

Andrew's head tilted to the right as though he were listening to something across the room or in the encompassing chatter of the guests. "Oh, what a shame. Here I thought we'd get to talk properly, but now I'm being summoned elsewhere. Until next time, Hatter." He shook her hand again. "Goodbye, Kia." He clapped his hand on her shoulder and grinned, then suddenly leant forward to whisper in her ear. When Andrew stood straight again he gave a salute and bounded off.

The pair stood dumbfounded in his wake, not entirely sure what had just transpired. "I swear, I don't know him," Kia promised as Hatter turned a suspicious glare upon her.

"Right… Mind telling me what he said then?"

"Just, like, 'take care of my sister' or something. But I don't know what he means! I don't know his sister! I don't know what he's talking about." The confusion in her eyes was clear as day, and Hatter had to accept that Kia wasn't the root of whatever interaction had taken place.

"Well if you don't know him, and I obviously don't either…" she tried to see where he had gone but failed to locate the oddly deranged man. Weird. "We'd best keep an eye on this 'Andrew' from now on."

I am... getting places with this story... slowly...

I intend to upload sketches of the dresses in the near future (for anyone actually interested in that) so keep an eye out.

See you next week.

Hopefully.