The Alluring Gotham City [Eva]

[Digger Harkness-Cpt. Boomerang]

The streets of Gotham were an odd place to be quite frank. Sure, this was true about most places when compared to the land down under, but Digger always felt as if Gotham was the worst. What made it different you ask, well it surely wasn't the design or anything like that. No, to be truly honest Gotham was a relatively nice city and shared a few common things with the cities of Australia. It was more a people thing then anything as American's were a completely different breed from what Digger was use to. They were creatures of odd behavior and they no two were exactly the same. Sure, the people of Australia weren't carbon copies, but generally Digger found they at least shared most of the same views for the most part. However, America was a melting pot of culture the likes of no other. The sheer size and history of the place made it impossible for it not to be. At any given moment you could look at the closest handful of people in a town and see so many different walks of life.

This was none of Digger's concern to be honest though. He tended to keep to himself, at least socially, and he was okay with this. On the other hand the way he 'Minded his own' tended to draw attention to him very often no matter if Digger wanted to or not. None the less Digger had no intentions of letting his mind wonder to this extent and shoved the thought to the back of his mind. The sun had just fallen under the horizon an hour ago or so this was the time Digger came out to play and that only meant on thing, spirits would follow (and not the seasonal kind). While this wasn't Digger's first time in Gotham he surely wasn't completely sure of the area's layout and being a creature of habit when he chose a bar he stuck to it. So, it was not very surprising that Digger would return to the same bar he had visited in his previous visits to Gotham.While this bar wasn't top notch it surely wasn't one that was associated with being a slum. Instead, this place was a rather nice place, that was even profitable enough to afford rooms for rent and a few dancers as well along with a stage for special performances.

Entering the building Digger would be confronted by the aroma of strong alcohol and a vague assortments of body sprays, that while weak were still noticeable. A smile would slowly form on his face as he took in the sight of the whole place. If Digger were to say he didn't care for the place he would honestly be lying, as this was one of the few places he was sure to more or less behave in and even bothered to pay for his drinks every time he went. This in itself was something Digger tended to 'forget' before he left the establishment most of the time.

Making his way to the bar he would slip a bill to the bartender as he ordered a bottle whole bottle of whiskey to himself and found himself a seat off to the side of everyone, but not too excluded as too point himself out in the crowd. At the moment Digger was both too sober to bother interacting with anyone and was more concerned of starting on his drink than doing anything else. So, that is exactly what he did. Cracking open the lid of the bottle he would take a short swig, downing it before looking back to the crowd of people. He would simply continue to casually sip on the bottle as he waited for anything interesting to occur. After all, this was Gotham itself, something was bound to happen even if it wasn't too major.

[Evangelina Bradley]

Another long, hard shift as a patrol cop in the GCPD is enough to drive Evangelina to drink. But today's shift wasn't totally exhausting, or else she might have pulled out that bottle of vodka she has stashed away and drank exactly the amount she can get away with and not miss work the next day. Today wasn't quite that bad, so her desire to drown a few troubles comes paired with the desire to be around other people in the hopes that will be more interesting than prime time television.

So after work she quickly discarded her uniform in favor of something more casual - a leather jacket worn over a gray tank top, jeans, and pair of black pumps. Nothing fancy or trying to impress someone, but good enough for a stop at the bar for a drink or two. Of course, it's been her experience that she gets hit on by men at the bar whether she tries to attract attention or not - probably because she's a blonde with an athletic figure.

And also because she tends to walk into every place she goes with the confidence of someone who owns it, at least when she's off duty. When she's on-duty there's always that worry that she'll run into the type of person who shoots cops on sight - because there are those in Gotham, though this isn't the sort of terrible neighborhood where she'd expect one of those. But here? This is practically home. Not that she's been to this particular bar all that often, but she's been around bars in general for a fair portion of her life and to a certain degree they're all the same. So she walks in without a care in the world, heads directly for the bar, and orders a glass of Corona, and finds a free seat at the bar.

However, no sooner does she sit then some probably drunk guy who was eyeing her from the moment that walks in sidles up to her and says, "Hey, don't I know you from some...ahh!" He finds himself stopping mid-sentence because the moment that he got close enough to be clearly violating her personal space, she grabs the front of his shirt and pushes him away from her with more ease than he was expecting. "No, and I don't want to know you either," she states, her calm, no-nonsense voice making it clear that she's not only uninterested but also completely unintimidated by the man.

[Digger Harkness-Cpt. Boomerang]

Having been sipping at the bottle he had bought only moments ago Digger would finally take one large swig. Setting it down on his table he would stare at it for a moment. As he looked at the now almost half empty bottle Digger would catch a glimpse of what he considered to be a rather nice looking lass, something that wasn't at all uncommon for Digger to spot. After all he had eyes that tended to wander and didn't care to keep out of other's business. This would lead the man to notice the woman's encounter with a rather intoxicated man. While Digger saw the immediate rejection as being funny he could see that the lass acted rather rash and swiftly in his own opinion.

The look on the man's face as this woman grasped at his shirt was priceless. Followed by his look of panic as he regained his just barely regained balance after being shoved. Not caring to draw any more attention or humiliate himself the man grumbled as he walked away. Mumbling something under his breath before staggering to another part of the building. While no reaction was given to the situation Digger was sure if it would have escalated any further that security would have surely shown up. The building had a zero tolerance attitude and therefore staffed a good bit of security for the place considering that they were indeed still in Gotham and one could never know what may break out....or in.

Chuckling slightly Digger would speak out in regard to the encounter. While most of the other patrons didn't notice it since not much of a scene was made by the man. Digger on the other hand fully took in the spectacle. Not being one to keep his mouth shut Digger would address the young lady with a smirk on his face. "Now, was that anyway to greet a person who simply asked a question?" Digger asked knowing all too well that he was doing the exact thing he blamed for causing the other man's misfortune. However, Digger liked to test boundaries and this surely wasn't an exception to such behavior. As he awaited Digger would raise an eyebrow at the lass before grasping his bottle and taking another swig from it, this time being conscious to conserve some.

[Evangelina Bradley]

Actually, if it had escalated any further, Evangelina would probably have had the man writhing in pain on the floor before security had a chance to do anything. Though she's not generally the sort of person who would just start some sort of a physical confrontation for no reason, when given a good excuse she sees little reason to hold back any further than the excuse allows for. For example, nobody would fault her for her forceful way of getting an unwanted drunk away from her, but if she'd hurt him just for that they'd have said that she went too far. If he'd persisted to the point where nobody would fault her for hurting him, she'd have done so.

But instead, he seems to have taken the hint to back off, so Evangelina goes back to her drink. Some women might be disturbed by being targeted by a drunk almost the moment that they walk in, but it would take more than that to phase her. Though it seems that the exchange got noticed by one of the other patrons. Well, several of them probably noticed, but since it ended without incident they didn't see the need to get involved. But one man decides to comment upon her reaction. And she immediately suspects that he's doing it just because it's an excuse to talk to her, but she doesn't care about that.

"Actually, I believe that is exactly how one is supposed to greet someone in that particular situation. In fact, I bet that even Miss Manners would approve," she says, referring to a newspaper columnist known for giving people advice on all matters of etiquette. She glances back to get a better look at the guy talking to her, having hardly spared him a glance when she came in, but neither his commentary nor his appearance is impressive enough to her for her to take much of an immediate interest in him, so she turns right back to her drink. Which is enough to convince some overly timid men that she'd be too much effort to continue to try to talk to, though any man that timid is probably not anyone she cares to know.

[Digger Harkness-Cpt. Boomerang]

Not quite getting a reaction he had expected Digger would find himself at a loss for a split moment. Chuckling once more he would pick up his bottle and proceed to take the next closest seat beside this woman. "Miss Manners, a friend of yours I suppose?" Digger would take a shot in the dark due to confusion as to what, or rather who, she was speaking off. Firstly, Digger was not from this country let alone the city. Secondly, he cared little for the newspaper as it usually bored him and therefore he hardly read such things.

Planting his bottom firmly in the new seat Digger would land awkwardly, wobbling a bit before balancing himself out. With a chuckle he would turn his attention toward Evangelina. "Aren't you quite the lass, mean as cat's piss if you ask me? Don't see that too often around these parts." A grin would form on his face as he poked a bit of fun at the woman. This was perfectly in line with Digger's behavior, he was known to tease others be it friends or strangers. Plus, with a bit of liquid courage Digger was up to the task of confronting the woman personally. One could compare his behavior like a monkey's, as he merely did what he did to see the results of his actions. This doesn't mean he wants a bad reaction, no he merely wanted to create conversation for conversation's sake and what better place to do it than a night time Gotham hot spot.

[Evangelina Bradley]

Evangelina isn't at all surprised when he gets up and sits next to her. In fact, in keeping with her overall attitude, she doesn't even glance over to watch him sit. Though when she hears the question that he asks, she does glance at him sideways. Hmm, a foreigner then. Yes, she heard that he had an accent earlier, but that only means so much in a place like Gotham. There's plenty of people around that have an accent but are totally Americanized. Not that even every American would be instantly familiar with Miss Manners, but those who aren't would likely be younger - those who are old enough to have grown up before the internet was an omnipresent distraction from the newspaper probably ran into her nationally syndicated column at least once.

In any event, she answers the question by saying, "No, in fact I think that she'd find me to be very 'appalling' if we ever met." An accurate assessment because following any form of etiquette is usually the last thing on her mind so she's probably doing something completely wrong every other minute. Not that she's a complete slob, but she isn't exactly a refined, high society woman either.

As a case in point, the next thing that he says causes her to snort in amusement. "You haven't been in Gotham very long, have you?" she asks, because she runs into women who are 'mean as cat's piss' on almost a daily basis. But having said that, she's quick to protest, "But I'm not mean - never mean - I just enjoy giving people exactly what they deserve." She enjoys that a lot, in fact - too much, perhaps. Even if they don't deserve it, actually, but she tries to refrain from doing that very often because that could very quickly get her into serious trouble. But no, that doesn't make her a mean person - not at all.

[Digger Harkness-Cpt. Boomerang]

With the woman's reply Digger would chuckle slightly, figuring he would just let the name stay just that, a name. He figured there was some culture barrier and didn't care to push the subject. Instead, Digger raised a brow in response to her words. "Appalling?! Why do you say?" As far as Digger could see the was anything that that immediately jumped out at him when looking at her. Then again one could only wonder if they had one too many sips from the bottle. Shrugging it off Digger simply took another swig from his bottle.

"You haven't been in Gotham very long, have you?"

Digger would have to quickly run through the sentence once more before he understood what he meant. Instead of referring to the city directly he was speaking of the country as a whole. While there sure were a fair deal of crazy woman in America it seemed more likely back home. Be it the much smaller living space and country as a whole or just the culture itself Digger had no idea. However, one thing was sure he found the place a bit dull at times. Then again in his line of work he usually had his hands too full to notice. Perhaps, it was the fact he had not settled into the new atmosphere of things, or maybe he simply expected too much from the country. Instead of simply draw out the statement he would answer it a bit more seriously.

"While back I came through. However, recently I touched down a few weeks ago. Figured I do some sight seeing and when I finished up I thought I'd give it another look through. Place seems a bit more busy from what it once was."

The city may have always been a big business centered town Digger did not mean that type of business. Instead, the slight grin on his face would be a small hint to the interesting headlines the city tended to pump out on a semi-normal rate. However, if this woman would realize such was questionable and had not even worried Digger enough for him to consider. While he was quite a big name back home and was noteworthy on a global scale he was by no means notorious or even a threat on Gotham levels. Digger had not caused any trouble in the city as he had some brains, but the fact he didn't wear a disguise makes the times he has been sighted worrisome on some small scale. Boomer was not in that mindset at the time and didn't even think of the possibility.

His grin turning to a true smile as he heard her last comment and would laugh at it. "Is that so?" Would be the only remark he would give. Not knowing how else he could really respond to such a statement. Digger did however find the line amusing in a personality way, as he fully believed if not succeed the woman would be more than willing to try and do so. Then again he did find a good laugh with the situation, a combination of liquor and his dry humor.

[Evangelina Bradley]

"Because I don't really care whether or not I'm doing anything 'properly'," Evangelina answers, taking another sip of her drink. Yes, she could explain who Miss Manners is and aleviate any discomfort that he has with not knowing the reference, and ironically enough that would probably be the 'proper' thing to do, but she doesn't see why she needs to turn this conversation into a tangent about a newspaper columnest that she doesn't care about anyway. It's not really necessary anyway except to possibly spare his feelings, but he doesn't look like he's the sort of person who needs their feelings spared anyways.

When he explains about his only brief visits of the area, she listens with interest though it's his last comment that she finds the most to actually comment on. "Ah, well, to a certain degree I wouldn't know very much about that myself. I've only lived in Gotham for a couple years - before that I lived in Blüdhaven, so I don't know what it was like around here before that. Of course, Blüdhaven is pretty much next door from here, and it was already kind of going the same direction that Gotham has been before I left. And of course having Arkham City open has made things a bit... interesting around here," she says in a somewhat rambling fashion. She completely missed being around for that period of time when it seemed like people wearing masks started appearing everywhere, even though in reality there's always been a few of those around, but she did happen to show up in time to see this new chapter of the city begin.

His laugh at her last statement causes her to grin widely, revealing what he may have guessed - she's being facetious. And also honest, though that may be unclear. Giving a murmur of confirmation, she adds, "Yeah, and that's probably why I'm a cop." But the way she says that says something about the way that she views her job - she says it in the same completely causal tone one would use to explain that they work at the local McDonald's, almost like confessing that her job isn't anything important, rather than with the pride of someone who feels like their job is an accomplishment. Yes, she had to complete some testing and training to get the job, but it's not something she sees as a big deal - at least not unless she's actively trying to impress someone.

And no, she doesn't recognise him immediately. Because the thing is, there are a lot of internationally known criminals, and she hardly has the list so well memorized as to recognise someone who is not at the very top of it while they're not dressed oddly and/or not behaving like a law-abiding citizen. If the GCPD were aware that the infamous Captain Boomerang was in the area they'd probably show around a picture of him at a police briefing, but at the moment she has no reason to remember his particular face. And if he threw a weaponized boomerang she'd probably remember, but she's off duty so her guard is down, and even when she's on duty there's a reason why she's still a patrol cop instead of being promoted to being a detective - she's not one who notices details very quickly.

[Digger Harkness-Cpt. Boomerang]

Shrugging at her response Digger figured he would take it as it was and leave it at that. Not much was left to say honestly and that was that. Plus, while he himself was not the nicest person he saw he had no room to speak of being 'proper'. Digger was by no means a 'properly' behaved individual by his own people's standards and certainly not by high-class Gotham standards. Then again as he swirled the thought around in his mind he was kind of glad. After all, what fun was their in behaving as other's expect? If such were to happen the world would be a most mundane place indeed. No, no, Digger was a much more interesting character, both his background and appearance would display this, he was goofy, happy-go-luck and overall unpredictable. Yes, unpredictable. The vary reason he had been known to be quite dangerous and cunning. No, he was no genius by any means, but neither was he stupid. It was simply the fact that he behaved unlike the normal individual that got him as far in life as he was and was sure to take him further. As to how far or were was debatable, but it was clear it was the driving characteristic behind the man himself.

"Ah, well, to a certain degree I wouldn't know very much about that myself. I've only lived in Gotham for a couple years - before that I lived in Blüdhaven , so I don't know what it was like around here before that. Of course, Blüdhaven is pretty much next door from here, and it was already kind of going the same direction that Gotham has been before I left. And of course having Arkham City open has made things a bit... interesting around here,"

Blüdhaven, now that was an interesting little place. Digger saw it as a discount Gotham in all regards and nothing more. It was close, had relatively the same news reported due to proximity and was just as full with criminals and masterminds. Again however, Digger saw the whole thing as a knock-off. Why go their when he could go to Gotham for the 'full' experience? At least that was how Digger justified skipping over the place entirely on both his visits to the States.

"A couple years, aye? Well that's a couple more than I've been 'ere? I'm sure a lass like you has picked up the of things in that amount of time. After all, you were cautious enough to protect yourself at a moments notice, even if not entirely necessary." A grin would slowly creep back to his face as Digger heard mention of Arkham City, one of the reasons he chose to swing by Gotham. It was an interesting concept and as such he found it a place he would like to know more of. However, he was not a fool and as such he would not intend stepping anywhere close to the place without ample reasoning. "Interesting place isn't it? All the world's best evil minds in one walled off 'city', or at least it seems. Couldn't see one reason the place would be considered volatile in the least." Obviously, the last statement was saturated to the brim with sarcasm as Digger spoke. Anyone could tell even if he hadn't done so that the pure words themselves were not serious in the least.

"Yeah, and that's probably why I'm a cop."

At this last statement Digger would not respond as severely as he felt, but he would instead continue to act normally. However, on the inside he was very much worried. It wasn't everyday he, a very wanted criminal, was sat in front of a police officer shooting the breeze. Then, as said before, he was by no means as notorious in the States as he was back home. While he could simply talk for a bit and casually take his leave as if nothing happened Digger was not so easily scared off. Digger was the pinnacle example of one who plays with fire, he's over confident, can't shut his mouth and determined. Therefore, Digger would instead take yet another swig and stay put as he was ironically more encouraged to speak to her by this fact alone. There was just something so appealing about stepping foot where one isn't suppose to and Digger had a thing for breaking the rules.

"A cop?!" He chuckled softly as he test the waters as he began to tease the lass. "A girl could get hurt with a job like that in a city like this. Lots of dangerous people turn up in the city. Even with a place like Arkham City to keep them locked up. Digger almost wanted to laugh at his own words as he raised a brow in wonder of what the response to his words may be. While indirectly and ironically referring to himself Digger's main purpose was not such. Instead, he only intended to get a reaction from the woman, as to get a better understanding of her character as a whole.

[Evangelina Bradley]

When he refers to the little incident with the drunk that preceded this conversation, Evangelina can't help but laugh at the way that he describes it. "Oh, trust me - that was completely necessary. Just because I don't know what he was planning on doing after his 'don't I know you from somewhere' routine doesn't mean that I don't already know that I'd object to it. It was obviously only going to go downhill from there," she states, shaking her head. And even if it had remained simply a conversation with an annoying drunk she doesn't see why she should have to endure it. At least not in a situation where nobody would blame her for instantly rebuffing him.

His comments on Arkham City cause her to scoff and say some sarcastic things herself. "Oh yes, let's put all of our problems into one giant pot and hope that the whole damned thing doesn't boil over," she says, shaking her head and taking another sip of her drink, "They say that the place is escape proof, but they also said that the Titanic was unsinkable. Just because nobody has escaped yet doesn't mean that they won't. Though I'm going to have to disagree with you about the 'best evil minds' part - Gotham doesn't have that title. Not in my opinion anyway - what we have here is the 'most insane minds'. That's Gotham's trophy." The best evil minds would be in... well, it does depend on what you mean by 'best'. The most intelligent? The most dangerous? Regardless, she doesn't consider Gotham's brand of criminal to be any measure of 'best'.

Of course, her job does tend to color her opinion of criminals. Mostly in that she finds most of your average small-time criminals to be utterly disgusting and pointless wastes of humanity. And as for those that are more prominent? Those she tends to avoid, if possible. She didn't become a cop because she wanted to die a hero, after all.

But she's still unaware that she's currently having a conversation with one of them, as she doesn't detect any signs of unease on his part. Though the way that he chooses to respond to her words catches her attention slightly - most men that she mentions her job to tend to say something complimentary about it, often in a flirtatious manner. Instead his words sound almost threatening, though the playful manner in which he says them indicates that he's just teasing. But though that strikes her as odd, it isn't exactly enough to make her suspicious of anything.

And so she responds to the teasing in kind. "Maybe, but lots of dangerous people in a city like this could get hurt by underestimating a girl with a job like that," she says without missing a beat, matching his tone. Then she smiles, clearly proud of herself even if she's not particularily proud of her job itself. If he was wondering why she's the type of woman who would protect herself from a flirting drunk in such a manner, he might now be seeing the pattern produced by some of her core personality traits.

[Digger Harkness-Cpt. Boomerang]

Hearing the lass respond to everything he threw at her without missing a beat Digger would chuckle once more. "You're a fiery one aren't yah?" He said with a grin on his face as he noted the way she spoke to him. Her words almost venomous in their defense, but not so much as to come off as aggressive, at least not to Digger. As he spoke time would seem to skip slightly at the subtle change in music. While most didn't notice Digger would find it slightly odd. To him it seemed like no two songs had the same mood and when one glided into another it seemed a bit taboo to him. Like the whole mood of the dance floor had changed with the press of a button. Then again maybe that was part of the reason Digger wasn't the dancing type, or maybe the fact he was usually to pissed to even dance when he went out to such a place. What could the man say he liked his drink more than most.

Speaking of alcohol Digger would take another swig, this time a small one compared to the rest as he was beginning to become a bit mindful of himself. After all he wouldn't want to be rude now and drink himself into a stupor he had company at the table or rather he was company at the table. Coupled with the fact he had discovered she was a law enforcer Digger was none to keen to get to the state he would drunkenly let any information of his 'career' slip. Even Digger could see that a cell was not the ideal place he would want to be sleeping tonight and therefore wanted to assure he would not end up there.

While he was not known as the careful type by any means Digger would be sure to play his cards right. If there were ever a time and place to do so it was right here and now. Truly Digger felt as if he was tip-toeing around a field of landmines just sitting at the same table as the lass. Then again he was confident, or maybe cocky, enough to believe one police officer wasn't much of a force to stop him if things turned sour. Plus, Digger was not the kind of person to step down from a challenge he had undertaken and he had already set his sights on talking to her.

"Say, you probably see a lot in your line of work. Got any interesting stories?" As Digger spoke he truly only wanted to drum up conversation with the Lass. Then again being in the line of work he was if a couple names were dropped he found interesting he would certainly keep them in mind. Plus, he thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get himself a foothold in Gotham. Then again if he were to only get a good story no harm done in that. I mean what kind of Aussie would he be to turn down a good story?