CHAPTER TWO

Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.

"God. If it's not ONE thing, it's another," Trinity muttered as she walked down the street. First snoring. Now painfully shiny pleather pants. Could this night get any worse?

Shut up, Trinity, she told herself internally. Just shut up. Concentrate on looking cool.

And concentrate she did. Behind svelte black sunglasses, she sharpened her vision to look for any trace of the lone coppertop. Who were they, she wondered? Who could possibly move that fast---

Her shins collided with a parked car. She winced. Of course it was impossible to see at four a.m. while wearing shades. Trinity yanked the Armanis off and shoved them into her cleavage.

Ah, now she could tell where she was. It seemed to be a slightly dodgy part of the city, especially since there weren't even any streetlights for another three hundred feet or so. Occasionally a lump in the doorways shifted and glanced at her as it readjusted the coat thrown over its body. The artificial smells that assailed her artificial nostrils were smoky, damp, exhaust-filled and stale. Nothing really moved except the bums.

"It's quiet," she said for no particular reason, resisting the urge to add, "Too quiet."

Yes, Trinity would have been creeped out if she wasn't Trinity, but as it was she only continued to stalk down the street. A navy blue Mazda van passed her by, whipping up a plastic bag, but nothing else happened.

After ten minutes this was getting old fast. She rummaged past the sunglasses and pulled out her extremely cool cell phone.

Then dropped it and whirled around.

At the corner of her vision, a shadow had darted. Faster than lightning. Nearly as fast as Neo after a Frappucino. But where was it now?

"Who are you?" she said steadily. (Trinity always said things steadily. Even as she killed you.)

Nobody answered.

Then she heard a "Whoosh" behind her and spun again. At that point, she was beginning to look a bit like a dancer in "Oklahoma--- the Black Leather Version!", but she held her poised position.

Surprise, surprise. Nobody there either.

"Show yourself!" she demanded. (Was that a quaver in her voice? Hell no. She, ah, must be tired or something. Yeah--- tired of being jerked around!)

At the corner of her eye---

Slowly she turned.

If Trinity had been a lesser person, she would have gone, "Eeep." But, as she was, she could only stare, eyebrows raised, at the woman two feet from her.

"Pleased to meet you," the woman said laconically.

Trinity took in the lady's costume, at a loss for words. Finally, she managed, "Nice ears."

"Oh, thanks. Like my whip, too?" the (dominatrix?) said as she snapped it an inch from Trinity's nose.

Trinity blinked. Nevertheless, she continued with the recruiting speech. "I've been watching you, and I have to say, you're pretty good."

"Awesomeness," the chick replied, her eyes on her whip as she casually twirled it around her.

Trinity continued. "I can't tell you who I am or who I work for, but I can tell you that we'd like you to be a part of it. How about coming by the Lincoln Street—"

She was interrupted by a particularly loud crack of the latigo.

"Would you mind putting that away?" she snapped.

"No, I don't think so," the lady said, still watching it as it spun. "See, actually, I believe I have a proposition for you. Mind if I borrow that?" She snagged the cell phone with the whip before Trinity could answer, kind of like a frog darting up a fly. Then she flipped it open and dialed a number.

"Hey, watch the minutes," Trinity muttered.

Dominatrix continued with her call. "Hey, 'lektra? It's me. I met this cold hard bitch down in the Bronx, and I think we have a potential candidate." She listened. "Yeah, I got the cards. Kinko's was a pain in the ass today, let me tell you…lines up the wazoo…"

"I said, keep it short," Trin said, somewhat less steadily.

"---Anyways, talk to ya later. Ciao," said the chick, handing the phone back to her.

"Okay. What kind of a proposition?" Trinity asked, her curiousity finally triumphing. "And I really think you should consider mine before you do any—"

The cat burglar smirked. "I can't tell you, and no. Here's the address you should come to tomorrow, though." She proffered a pink-and-black embossed business card. Trinity could dimly see a house number on it.

The woman crouched down. "Well, nice talking to ya. See you at eleven."

"Wait!" Trinity hissed, but the woman had flown into the air before the word was finished. Trinity was left standing on the street, staring upwards in a slight state of shock.

A voice came from the fire escape above her.

"And bring bagels!"

W00t- another chapter done. I'll shout all you reviewers out next week, ya hear?