Several hours later, Holly was fuming in a backless cocktail dress while she waited in line at the club. Hormonal little brat must have bribed them. She thought, bitterly. Bullshit they couldn't figure out how to get around the wings. And does it have to be slit so far up the leg?
Her dress was down to her ankles of course, but slit generously up the thigh. She looked like a million lien, and the dress did an adequate job of concealing the thigh holster for her new firearm. She was glad for the gun, but she was thoroughly missing her jumpsuit right now.
"Cold feet captain?" Artemis said, ahead of her in line. He'd found whatever passed for Armani here in Vale, and was wearing a pinstripe suit that looked daring compared to his usual flair... or lack thereof. "We can try again another night if you're not up to it," Artemis said. "I know the shopkeep was a bit pushy about the dress but-"
"I'm fine, mud-boy," Holly huffed. "Let's just get this over with so I never have to wear this thing again."
A woman with black hair and an ornate red outfit is at the door to the club, lazily waving people through after cursory glances at their IDs. When Artemis and Holly get to the door, she scoffs.
"Umm, like, I can't let you in."
Artemis raised an eyebrow, "I assure you, we have business here. Said business does not involve alcohol, I assure you."
"Not my problem babyface," She said. "You and your babysitter can get out of my line. Next?"
Someone tried to step forward, but Holly shot her a glare that would unsettle a troll. Artemis reached into his coat, and pulled out the note from the package. He handed it to the bouncer.
"This supposed to mean something to me?"
"Tell the one in charge that he's not as good at covering his tracks as he thinks he is." The woman rolled her eyes, but took out her scroll and snapped a picture. She sent it off, and the reply came back almost immediately. She heaved a dramatic sigh.
"Like, the boss wants to talk in the back. Follow Mel," she gestured to a woman in white approaching from the club. "Next!"
Artemis and Holly were led into the club, much to the annoyance of those next in line. They followed the woman in white past the bar, where the bartender followed close behind. There were men in uniforms that matched the robbery, scattered around the club. Each of them kept a careful eye on the both of them. Artemis noted that the bouncers and the bartender weren't wearing the same uniform. The bouncer at the door wore red, and the one that led them wore white, both rather overwrought outfits. At the same time however, they were armed. The woman and red had subtle, dark claws, easy to lose in the club's colors and lighting, and the woman in white had high heels that tapered into cutting blades. Artemis had to remind himself again that though this world's taste in weaponry was odd, it was no less effective. He had no way of knowing how well his opponents were armed, and he suddenly found himself missing Butler terribly.
Artemis just caught a glimpse of what would pass for an old fashioned 'Chicago Typewriter' stashed behind a rack of vinyl, as they passed the DJ booth for the back room. To Artemis's surprise, it wasn't a simple desk and chairs set up like his father had employed. It was a lounge. The bartender took a seat in a leather armchair and waved his arm toward a sectional sofa on the other side of a coffee table. Artemis and Holly each took a seat, but the bouncer in white remained by the door.
"So," the bartender began. "Not even a day goes by, and you manage to track me down. Impressive."
"Thank you," Artemis began. "I suppose you're Hei Xiong the Second?"
"Just 'Junior' is fine. It's a nightclub, kid. No need to be so formal."
"Force of habit," Artemis smiled. It was a careful smile, measured like a shot of whiskey.
"So," Junior asked. "Why are you here?" Artemis turned to Holly and gave her a quick nod.
"We came to thank you for the pistol," Holly said. "The cashier was being... difficult." Junior raised an eyebrow for a moment, but didn't comment.
"Fair enough," he said. "Frankly I should be thanking you. There aren't a lot of Hunters who stick around after a fight, much less provide first aid."
"Hunters?" Artemis asked. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. We're civilians."
"Mercenaries?" Junior asked. Holly could see where this was going. She had a feeling that admitting to being a former police officer here was a terrible idea.
"We used to live in an out-of the way village. I decided I'd rather not be Grimm-bait, so I learned to fight." Holly said. A little tension bled out of Artemis's shoulders.
"Yeah that'd do it," Junior said, seeming to buy it. "So if you're not a Huntress, what do you do?"
"I'm between jobs at the moment," Holly said, carefully stitching the story together in her head. She thought back to what she'd told Royal before. She flared her wings, and pointed a thumb behind her. "These cost me my last job,"
"Lot of that going around," Junior said. "What about you kid? You look about the age for Signal, and you've certainly got the brass for it." He couldn't stop a grin. "He's never going to live that down, you know that right?"
"Certainly not," Artemis smiled, a little less carefully perhaps. "I specialize in acquisition and resale. On both sides of the board."
"I take it you don't mean picking pockets," Junior said, his eyebrow raised.
"Antiques, artwork, precious metals," Artemis said as Holly rolled her eyes. "And of course, information. I imagine that last one interests you the most."
"Why would it?" Junior said, carefully. His tone was cautious but not quite malicious.
"No need to play coy Mr. Xiong," Artemis smiled. "Your bouncer told us we were meeting the boss. If the boss is a barkeep, he's an information broker. Not an uncommon arrangement."
"And I suppose you've come to buy?" Junior said.
"Not just yet, Mr. Xiong." Artemis said "As my colleague said, we came to thank you. I have a feeling that we'll have a lot of mutual business for each other."
"You're likely right, Mr. Fowl," Junior said, standing up and smoothing his vest. "I look forward to working with you, but if that's all I do have a business to run." Holly and Artemis stood as well, as Junior offered Artemis a handshake. "You're welcome to enjoy yourselves here tonight... though I do still have to card you."
"Of course," Artemis said, taking the handshake. "I wouldn't want to jeopardize your liquor license."
Artemis would be the first to admit the club scene was not for him. Flashing lights, thumping bass, and free flowing alcohol didn't appeal to him. It was a place to lose oneself, a place of mindless escapism. However, it would be quite rude to leave immediately after his new associate extended his hospitality. So Holly and Artemis sat at the bar, and ordered from one of Juniors photocopied underlings. They had been issued IDs when they arrived in Vale. Artemis used his actual date of birth, backdated an appropriate fifteen years, and advised Holly that she'd pass for seventeen. Thus, neither of them could legally drink. Artemis ordered an iced tea with a twist of lemon, while Holly ordered a virgin strawberry sunrise. They contented themselves watching the crowd
"So that's what this was about?" Holly asked, a slight air of disappointment in her voice. "Criminal..." she paused. She lost the word. It was happening less and less, but she'd only been learning for a few weeks. ["Networking?"]
"I realize you don't approve," Artemis said. "But we-
Holly cut him off. "They kill people, Artemis," she growled, keeping her voice low. "You might have kept blood off your hands, but this is a gang."
"I am aware, Captain Short," Artemis replied. "I don't make this allegiance lightly. This isn't the first time I've had to get my hands dirty."
Holly swallowed. For an instant, she was looking at a younger Artemis. The one who had locked her in a cellar what seemed like a lifetime ago. They had been through so much together, it was easy to forget what set them apart. She sighed.
"So where do we go from here?" Holly asked. "What's the next step?"
"For now we need to finish establishing ourselves," Artemis began. "A stable home base, and steady income. We've got half of that down, the renovations should be finished soon."
"I could get a job," Holly said. "Royal was practically salivating over me."
"Royal?" Artemis asked.
"The officer who took statements after the robbery. She stopped by for a chat while you were defusing the mail," Holly smiled. "Apparently, faunus that can actually fly are rare, even if they have wings."
"That seems unusual," Artemis said.
"I think she's trying to recruit me," Holly smiled.
"Ah, that might be worth looking into." Artemis smiled. "I can look up their requirements to see if we need to fabricate a paper trail."
"Do we really need to do that?" Holly asked.
"As far as Vale is concerned, we didn't exist until the moment we first got here. A background check is not ideal if you don't have a background."
"I suppose you're right," Holly sighed.
The mood in the club shifted, and they both felt it. Juniors men were converging near the bar where- Artemis nearly dropped his drink. There was a blonde woman at the bar, wearing thick yellow bracelets and an outfit that left little to the imagination. She was attractive, and she knew it, but her outfit was out of place at a nightclub. A tight vested shirt, most of a skirt, and a scarf that only served to accentuate her cleavage. But that wasn't why Artemis was staring. No, Artemis was staring because this woman had Junior's family jewels in a death grip.
"Holly, something tells me you ought to keep a hand on your gun." Artemis said.
It looked, for one naive moment, like the conflict would resolve peacefully. The blonde was leaning forward to 'kiss and make-up'... and then she suckerpunched him through a decorative pillar and into the bar wall where they kept the top shelf liquor. As the staff circled her armed with fire axes and machetes, her bracelets expanded, covering her forearms. She drew her fist back sharply, and a single shotgun shell clattered across the floor.
"Huntress?" Holly asked, uncertainly.
The blonde leapt dozens of feet into the air as the staff rushed her, and brought her fist down on the club floor. There was a small explosion and a visible shockwave as the plastic floor panels bucked the suits off their feet.
"Huntress." Artemis confirmed.
The resulting melee was short and painful. The bracers weren't just armor, they had shotguns built into them. It was brutally genius. A point blank shotgun blast delivered in time with an evidently powerful blunt force. And if that wasn't enough, she was utilizing the recoil to bounce around the skirmish. The DJ pulled the tommy gun, but his aim was pathetic. She danced around his desperate spray, leapt up to the DJ booth and slammed him into the wall.
Holly had seen enough, and she drew her Fractal Classic. She pulled a dust cartridge without checking which it was, slotted it beneath the barrel, and racked the slide to put a round in the chamber. The DJ hit the dance floor as the bouncers stepped in, where they had been during this mess Holly couldn't fathom. They said something that Holly couldn't hear over the music, and the blonde ejected her spent cartridges all over the floor. Then she made a mistake. A classic mistake. A mistake that any decent police academy trained out of its recruits. The blonde showed off. She tossed two chains of shells into the air, moving through a practiced pose to reload. Holly took aim and snapped off two shots. The blonde faltered when she never felt the rounds lock into place, and she heard something crystalline behind her. A glance over her shoulder confirmed, her bullets were frozen to the wall by a growing patch of ice crystals. She glared daggers at Holly and leapt off the booth.
She bolted straight for Holly, ignoring the bouncers, which proved to be a mistake. The one in white struck low, taking the blondes feet out from under her and forcing her into a roll. The one in red landed a glancing blow to the back of her head. She came out of the roll with her guard up and ready only to watch a few of her golden locks drift slowly to the ground. The blonde yelled in anger, and flames ignited in the air around her. She matched the bouncers blow for blow, not appearing to care about the hits she took. If anything it made the fire burn brighter whenever one of the bouncers raked their blade across her. Holly took careful aim.
The blond kicked the white bouncer's leg out from under her and Holly fired, freezing the blonde's other leg to the floor. She windmilled for a moment, fighting to keep her balance, and the bouncer in red took the chance for a vicious uppercut. The ice shattered, and sent the blonde flying toward Holly. Holly's wings buzzed to life, but she hadn't used them in combat. She wasn't quite quick enough. The blonde grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her down. Holly leaned back to reduce the impact of a vicious haymaker, but it still sent her through one of the decorative pillars. She stood shakily, missing her magic as she felt a dozen cuts and scrapes begin to seep blood. One in particular was on her cheek, and she could feel the blood beginning to drip down off her chin.
The blonde's jaw dropped in shock."You're not even a cop! Stay out of this or-"
Holly didn't hesitate. She snapped two more shots off, pinning both legs to the ground with ice. Then two more to her gauntlets. Three more locked her arms and legs in place, then she dropped the magazine and slammed another into place.
"I'm only going to say this once," Holly growled as she racked the slide. "Freeze."