Boss's Orders [Nina]

[Deleted]

OOC: I am not playing the Riddler in this thread. It will all be from Allen's perspective.

"She needs to get out of this suite," the Boss muttered as he put on his jacket in front of the bathroom mirror. It was early in the morning. The sun hadn't even stretched across the horizon yet, but here Allen stood, arms folded over his chest as he watched his Boss put the finishing touches on his outfit. He would never understand how a man could be that obsessed with his appearance, but Allen was smart enough not to voice it.

"She doesn't want to go anywhere," Allen informed, in an attempted quiet voice. He wasn't too please that he had to talk quietly anyways, so what if he woke up the Boss's random squeeze. She wouldn't last. They never did.

"I don't particularly care what she wants," he said as he tightened his tie a bit to tight before shooting Allen a glare, "It's unhealthy and slightly depressing. If I knew she was going to be this bored, I would have left her in Gotham." His tone was cold. Allen knew this tone. It was his Boss's 'I'm not in the mood for shit' tone. He either was mad at the girl or mad at whoever he was going to meet.

"Got it," Allen said, as he followed the Riddler to the hallway and to the living room.

The small kid was standing in the living room fiddling with his shirt. He seemed tired and very upset that he was awake. Stupid kid really had no clue what he was into.

"Jimmy, you're coming with me. Let's go," the Boss growled as he went to the door. The boy slowly but eventually pushed himself off the wall. He followed quietly and shut the door behind him even more softly. Everyday, Allen wasn't sure if the boy would be back. The Boss had a temper, and the boy seemed oblivious to it. Least Robby was smart enough to fear it. He missed Robby.

Allen rubbed the back of his head as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Another day of babysitting....freakin' ridiculous. He should have joined Two Face's gang back in the day. Even if the man went through men faster then any other, it at least was entertaining. He went over to his room, which he shared with Jimmy and was much smaller. He pulled his suitcase out from under the twin bed and threw it on top. He unlocked it, with a code he had written on the back of his hand. He could never remember codes that well. He opened it and looked over his collection of weapons and bullets. He pulled a smaller one out that would fit the day activities. He then went to the living room and started cleaning it. This consisted most of the time he babysat. The woman didn't move or do anything out of the ordinary but write things in her laptop. It really wasn't that entertaining, nor did he have to keep a full eye on her. He knew the woman had some crazy shit powers, but not like the Boss ever cared.

The sun slowly rose above the horizon, and Allen had become bored of his cleanin'. He placed his gun in his holder then walked to the Boss's room. It was already open because the Boss felt no need to close it when he left. Allen walked in and noted the woman sleepin'. He usually just left her sleeping. It saved him time from the weird silence.

But Boss's orders.

Allen was never subtle about things. Social conduct in a way was lost to him, so he grabbed a throw pillow that had fallen to the ground then roughly threw it at the woman's head.

"Yo, we gotta get out of here," he said in a not too thrilled voice and not mentioning the chick's name. He never mentioned her name because to him she was truly just some random chick.

[Nina Stenet]

Nina wakes up with a start when her face is suddenly hit by a pillow. She blinks wearily, though fortunately for Allen she's not the type to wake up in a bad mood. Then again, when his words finally register, her expression gets mildly concerned - mostly due to how he put it. 'We gotta get out of here' seems to imply some sort of urgency. Then again, to judge by his tone it isn't urgent. "What's going on?" she asks, as she tries to make sense of that with her only partly awake mind, though she makes some effort in getting it working again after being so abruptly roused.

Even before Allen gets the chance to answer she glances over to were she last saw Edward and frowns. He left without even saying goodbye again - she hates that. Is a quick 'I'll see you later' in the morning really too much to ask? It would take, what, five seconds?

[Deleted]

Allen rolls his eyes. Boss says she all smart, but he hasn't seen nothin' impressive. Obviously they are leavin'. Allen thought he made that pretty clear. Bimbos, they really have no clue when it comes to common sense. Probably explains their stupid attachment to criminals. Stupid and more stupid.

"Leavin'," he repeated as he shifted on his foot awkwardly. His eyes turned up towards the ceiling immediately. He wasn't sure what the chick was wearin' under the blankets, and he personally had heard some of the sick things that happen between them. To think a gimp could even get a girl to make those sound. Allen frowned in disgust. Before he worked for Riddler, he had been in the mob business. During that time Riddler had those two crazy girls as sidekicks. It baffled him back then too. The man was scrawny and eck...his boss. Gah. But when he started work for the Riddler, he found out the rumor of the Boss havin' threesome was actually true. One of those crazy chicks tried to kill him for replacing them, saying way to detail of shit then Allen ever wanted to hear. He only got them to shut up when he shot one in the arm, and the Boss came out and scolded them.

Gross. Gross. The ceiling was a hella ton better image, even if was just dried paint.

"You ready in five. I'm starve," he muttered, mostly just saying anything to get out of this disgusting room.

[Nina Stenet]

What Nina is wearing under the blankets is none of Allen's business, but she has enough sense to make sure whenever she falls asleep that she's covered enough by the blankets to make the answer to that question irrelevant. With another grown man and a teenage boy in sharing the suite, that's definitely something she's careful about.

She frowns slightly at that highly inadequate answer. "Can you tell me why we're leaving?" she asks carefully, almost patronizingly. She can't help it really - it's such an obvious detail to include, and she's just not as sharp when first waking up that she can just guess. And she gets enough of having to just guess answers from Edward, she doesn't need to put up with it from Allen too. And apparently she has no intention of making a move to get ready to go anywhere until he answers her question.

[Deleted]

He lets out a deep annoyed sigh. The shit his boss ask him to put up with. Allen almost would prefer to get his fingers broken again. "Boss said so," Allen mumbled. His eyes turned to the wall, not wanting to look at her.

"Gotta go," he repeated, "Ain't gonna get the worm." He then headed to the hallway and shut the door behind him. He was bein' respectful. She might be a squeeze, but no girl would want to be watched as they changed. He let out another annoyed sigh. It was going to be a long day...a long long day.

He headed to the couch and plopped back down. Maybe he should keep cleaning his gun. There wasn't really much else to do.

[Nina Stenet]

Nina frowns with a tired look on her face at Allen's 'answer' to her question. It's still not the complete answer she was hoping for, but it's enough for her to figure out the rest. Edward must have decided to upgrade from strongly suggesting that she get out more to insisting. Her frown deepens at that, but she sighs heavily and says, "Fine. I'll go." She's really saying that to the not-present Edward, but Allen has no way of knowing that she isn't speaking to him.

She already doubts that she'll enjoy it much. She only has two reasons for being here: it's where Edward is and it's safer than being in Gotham. She did not come because she finds China to be an interesting or enjoyable place. Especially not while she's still on crutches. And there goes the more neutral mood she had when she woke up - it's going straight to being irritated.

And Allen isn't helping with that at all. "If you don't want me to ask for the important details you left out, then you shouldn't over-summarize," she mutters very quietly in his general direction, not knowing if he can actually hear her or if he'll react to it at all even if he does. Instead she simply waits for him to close the door behind him so that she can get dressed in privacy.

Unlike a lot of women who could not possibly get themselves from waking up in bed to ready to go out literally within in five minutes, even with her leg slowing her down Nina can manage that without much trouble. The biggest time saver is her hair - she simply runs a pick through her curls before pulling it back into her characteristic ponytail. The second is the fact that she tends to go minimal and basic on her makeup when it isn't a special occasion. She just isn't into wasting too much time on something as unimportant as the fine details of her personal appearance - once she's presentable she calls it good and finds something better to do.

And in this case she simply heads into the main room and says, "I'm ready." And to judge by her expression and tone she's managed to get over her irritation, but she's quite obviously not enthusiastic about this at all. Though she's guessing that she isn't the only one who feels the same way.

[Deleted]

Allen only looked up from his gun when the chick said she was ready. He had been watchin' this one for some time now, so he hadn't been surprised with how quickly she dressed. Though in Allen opinion she never looked that good, sort of lazyish. He liked a cute type of girl, not blah or whatever this is. He grunted in response and stood, putting his gun into his holder under his jacket. He then went to the door. He didn't really know what he planned to do with this chick. Boss hadn't been too descriptive. He knew of a place he liked the last time his Boss had dragged him to China. They spoke English, so yeah he liked it.

The squeeze wouldn't like it though, but she wouldn't really like anything. He shrugged to himself. Boss didn't give details, so he should be in the clear. He left the door open behind him. He didn't hold it open or do anything that could be consider gentlemanly. He knew his mother would have given him a scoldin' for that, but again, this wasn't his squeeze. He wasn't gettin' paid to baby her, only to watch her. He pressed the button for the elevator and stepped in. He made sure to hold it, until her slow ass finally got in.

Allen didn't talk much. He talked when he had something to say, and with this chick he had nothin' to say. It lead to a not too pleasant silence, so as they rode down the elevator, Allen merely shifted his weight from foot to another. It was going to be a long day.

When the door open, he bolted into the lobby. His eyes glanced all the corners, cameras, people, and doors. He didn't think anyone would be after this chick, but it was his job. He even gave the girl one glance behind him to make sure she was still there before heading out onto the street.

They were in a nicer area of town, so it wasn't as crowded as other areas. Being a big guy though, he could always easily maneuver himself between people. He waved down a cab that pulled over for him. Allen bent to the passenger side as the window rolled down. The cab driver gave him a fearful sight. Not only was he one of the only african americans in this city, he also was a giant.

"English?" Allen asked.

The cab driver nodded which made Allen nod. Allen stood, and this time, he actually opened the back door for the girl and waited for her to step in.

[Nina Stenet]

If 'cute' is someone who wears a trendy top, designer jeans, fun shoes, and three shades of eyeshadow carefully blended together while carrying an eye-catching purse, then Nina certainly doesn't count as 'cute'. All of that stuff just isn't her style - Shawty is definitely into all of that stuff, but it really is a lot more work when you do that. Not that Nina's ever known to look sloppy, but she opts for a more professional look where most of the effort comes from simply purchasing the right clothing rather than throwing together a unique 'look' everyday. She has a tendency to look more like someone's boss than someone's girlfriend as a result - though she does find herself going through just a little more effort than normal when she knows that Edward with be around. But that doesn't appear to be the case today, or in any event not until later.

She follows Allen silently, not really caring where they're going. And she doesn't know what else she might say to Allen, especially since she gets this vaguely uncomfortable feeling around him lately. Of course she knows that Allen will protect her to the best of his ability, if only because of what Edward would do to him if she got hurt on his watch, but her gut instinct seems to warn her that she ought to be suspicious of him even though she can't quite figure out why. And since she trusts her instincts she finds herself keeping more of an eye on him than the rest of her thinks is strictly necessary. Not that she's at all obtrusive about it.

The door closes behind her when she simply uses one of her crutches to knock it just hard enough to make it shut securely, and she follows Allen into the elevator, not really noting or caring about his manners. He's not her friend or employee, so it isn't her place to be offended by or critical of his behavior. Or at least, not more than she'd be of any other random person she could bump into. And she's too busy trying to convince herself that today might not be so bad to worry about that anyway.

When they get out of the elevator and he starts looking around, she follows along behind. Though she's on crutches, she's enough used to them that she doesn't have much trouble keeping a regular pace. Her problem is more that they tire her out quickly. Hopefully wherever they're headed will be somewhere she can mostly sit. Though she has to admit that there's one thing she likes about going somewhere with Allen - he can sure part a crowd. And anyone seeing them evidently together would think twice about messing with her - though given her slight paranoia of him that only helps her feel somewhat safe.

"Thanks," she says when he opens the door for her, as that's practically reflexive given just how ingrained saying it is in her. She settles herself inside quickly, as if she might get this all over with faster if she doesn't dawdle now.

[Deleted]

Allen gave the address, and the cab took off through the busy traffic. Allen eyes wandered outward. Once again, he didn't really know what to talk about with this woman. He preferred when she brought Shawty around. She was a bundle of energy with spunk. His boss had a hard on with her, and while if in his Boss's eye shot, he would never not do what his Boss wanted, Allen certainly liked to talk with her. It was actually the reason that Allen allowed Shawty to meet with the Boss's squeeze when the Boss was out. He knew the chick wasn't a threat, and he particularly did care about his Boss's hurt pride. He also didn't care what happened with the Boss's squeeze. Whatever she had been planning was her thing.

If she got hurt, it was her fault. He didn't care.

He did wish the short cutie pie was here though. Sucked that he got stuck with this chick instead.

The cab finally stopped outside a dingy bar of sort. They weren't in the best part of town, but it also was the morning so he wasn't worried. He paid the driver and stepped out. The bouncer say him in a heart beat.

He was a small chinese man who looked far too thin and innocent to be threatening, but anyone who knew him personally, knew the man was skilled in the art of martial arts. "Al, you in China," the man said softly as he moved from the front door with a small smile.

"Ya betcha. Boss can't get enough of this place," he commented with a not to thrilled voice. When the Boss had gotten busy the last time they were here, he had gone two block from their hideout at the time and sat at this place. He befriended a few of the people.

He waited for the chick to get out of the cab. He didn't want her runnin' away.

[Nina Stenet]

Getting out of the cab takes a little more time than it does to get in, but that's the only thing keeping Nina from following Allen immediately. Her first impression of the place he's taken her to is... not good. Then again, he was perfectly correct to assume that she's unlikely to be pleased with anywhere he takes her. It's not quite true that there's absolutely nowhere in the city she wouldn't be pleased with, but in order for Allen to guess them he'd need to know a lot more about Beijing and a lot more about Nina.

Still, she finds herself rapidly becoming okay with the idea of a low end bar - at least they'll be able to report back to Edward that she had a change of scenery for awhile. And she doubts that Allen would have brought her here if he was unsure of the safety of the place. Besides, she's not about to run off. Where would she run off to? The only place that she might want to be more (other than wherever Edward is) is possibly the suite.

She listens curiously to the exchange between Allen and the bouncer, who apparently have met before. "Al?" she asks idly as she closes the door to the cab, trying to remember if Edward has ever called him by that. She doesn't think he has, as hearing Allen with a nickname sounds odd to her. But then, in spite of the number of times Allen has been left to keep an eye on her, she doesn't know him very well. Mostly because she has a hard time relating to him at all, and that tends to put a quick end to any attempts at conversation. She probably wouldn't be able to fill a page listing off everything she knows about him, if she couldn't describe his appearance.

[Deleted]

The one good thing about the chick messed up leg was that she didn't move too quick. He could easily chase her down if he had too. He brought his focus back on the small man. "Can we still get the set up like before," he asked with a big warm smile to the little man.

The man gave a polite smile back. "Yes, yes, I am certain the owner still remembers you. You were by far are friendliest customer. Some of the older girls will be happy that you are back," the man nodded to himself before turning to the door. He opened it for both of them, but Allen waited for the chick to go in first. He wasn't sure what the girl would think of a strip club, but hey, did it really matter. Not like he was going to touch any of them.

After Nina walked in, he used his large form to prevent her from backing out, if that thought had occurred in her mind.

"Al, you're back!" a bearded chinese man yelled in broken english from behind the bar, "Two drinks you will have!" The man laughed to himself, not sure if he was saying it correctly.

"That'd be great!" Allen said back as he led Nina to a booth. It wasn't directly in front of the dancers. It sat off in a corner. It was the same booth Robby, him, and the Boss sat two years ago. He took a seat in a booth and waited for the chick to do the same. It went back to that awkward silent thing. Allen chatted with the bartender when he brought over the drinks, then he left. To think this place was open so early, but Allen knew it was one of the top places for the Chinese Underworld Business to take place.

The silence continued....and continued....and continued...okay the chick was killing his mood.

He tapped his drink awkwardly before bluntly and randomly stating what had been on his mind since she had shown up, "You know the boss is gonna leave ya." He didn't know why he felt inclined to say it now. It was something about being here where he had seen his Boss hit on many of the girls and prance about with them randomly. It annoyed him that this chick thought she was something, and that he actually had waste his time to deal with her. He hated babysitting, absolutely hated it.

[Nina Stenet]

The moment Nina sees the exact nature of the place, backing out is the first thing that comes to mind. Surely this must be the wrong place! But when she looks behind her and sees how Allen's strategically placed himself in the doorway, she frowns. The thought of just how quickly she could get the big man out of her way crosses her mind, but she dismisses it almost instantly. Instead she settles for giving him a long, hard stare that says 'Why are you doing this to me?' while she makes a mental note to complain about this to Edward later - loudly and repeatedly if she has to - until she's certain it won't happen again. But after that she simply heads all the way inside.

When she seats herself at the booth Allen leads them to, she pointedly angles herself so that the dancing girls are behind her, but then after that she seems to be able to get somewhat comfortable in spite of the venue. The old adage 'out of sight, out of mind' actually does work. Still, her mood has taken a turn for the worse so she feels even less like talking than before. Why couldn't Edward have just let her stay in the suite today?

Her irritated musings are interrupted by Allen's abrupt statement. But her expression is rather blank when she looks up at him. Either she's not at all bothered by the statement or that just didn't reach the surface. "Why do you say that?" she asks after a moment, deciding that she'd rather know that then explain to Allen why she thinks he's wrong. Then again, she suspects that she knows some of the reasons Allen could name, but being able to guess is not quite the same thing as actually hearing it.

[Deleted]

Allen shifted a bit uncomfortably. This woman was killing his mood, and it was hard to kill his mood in a strip club. His eyes shifted from her to the woman dancing then back to her. He recognized the small Asian woman as she proceeded to take off her clothes. He couldn’t even get some joy out of it because of Mrs. Buzz Kill.

Unlike his boss, Allen didn’t analyze every statement that left someone’s mouth. He didn’t care. He just was tired of feelin’ this awkwardness. He didn’t laugh, nod, or show any expression on her question. He just answered it like a normal person would do. “I have been with the Boss on and off for a long time,” he commented, “And in that time, I’ve seen a lot of ya.” He pointed to her before taking a drink.

“Same thing over and over. Tried to warn the other chicks too, but they didn’t listen. They either get killed, sent to Blackgate, or get their family killed,” he mumbled, “Boss has an attention span of a child in summer.”

Now again, Allen wasn’t a man for logic, but he noticed things when they happened regularly. His Boss jumping from one girl to the next was a hard thing not to notice.

[Nina Stenet]

Though it's very gradual, Nina finds herself slowly coming to grips with the nature of the venue Allen apparently thought would be a good idea to take her to. Not that she couldn't sit here for years and still not be quite comfortable, but she's always been good at finding a way to cope with whatever life throws at her.

Besides, Allen's answer to her question proves to be pleasantly distracting from her other thoughts. Her expression softens just a bit. "Allen, the man shot me," she replies with bluntness, though her voice remains calm, "Shot to kill and it was sheer luck that he managed to turn around and save me when he realized that he didn't really want me dead. I may have forgiven him for that, but don't think that I'm blind or stupid - I don't need anyone to tell me that he is who he is. The decisions I made to wind up here right now were not made lightly." She pauses and smiles slightly, "Though for what it's worth, I appreciate you trying to warn me. But it's a bit like me warning you that working for him is dangerous. You already know, and given that you still work for him you've decided the risk is acceptable."

She looks like she's about to add to that, when her cell phone unexpectedly vibrates. Pulling it quickly out of her pocket, she reads the text on the screen and smiles at it. Glancing up at Allen, she asks, "I don't suppose you'd mind it if I invited Shawty to join us, would you?"

[Deleted]

He grunts to her first response. The chick kind of reminded her the kid, or the kid reminded her of the chick. One way or another, neither one of them had a clue. They hadn't been around long enough. They hadn't seen the stuff he'd seen. They hadn't seen the boss after he failed to beat Batman. He goes insane. Luckily, the boss gets his ass sent to Arkham so Allen gets to miss the true insane moments, but he sees it after he's escapes. It's like he wipes himself clean of the past and step a bit deeper into twisted stuff. Now, Allen didn't understand shrink stuff, but he knew somethin' about failin' got to the man. He also knew that the Bat always did eventually get him. He always did, but Allen didn't do this for some fancy chess match. He did it cause it was a well paying and pretty easy job.

Chick had no clue what she was into, and if she thought gettin' shot was bad...whatever he warned her, not his problem.

The only thing stopped him from going into another awkward silence was the mention of Shawty. He perked up at it. Oh the Boss was gonna be pissed, but Allen didn't care. It didn't really effect anything. The Boss just couldn't know.

"Cutie pie is in China?" he asked, not even considering how impossible that was. He basically accepted it for what is was. "Ya, I'd be fine. She's always a ball of spunk." He grinned a bit.