August 13, 2016:
Elektra breaks into Oliver's safehouse to ask for help.
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NPCs: None.
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Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
It's been a while since Elektra was on this side of town. There was no telling if Oliver Queen was still in the area, there were no hits in the news or murmurs on the streets about the vigilante Green Arrow rescuing some ill fated person from a certain doom and gloom. Nothing. All was quiet in the world but that didn't stop her from actually 'checking'. In the light of the day, or in the cover of darkness, which ever.. she lurks near the opening of the lair itself, her dark eyes scanning the possible entrances into the place, but finding none but one.
Her compact is retrieved, flipped open, tape peeled from the mirror as she approaches, fingers curling to knock against the panel to keep it open to press the tape against the reader.
The door itself springs to life as the tape was put into the compact, and with a look back and forth, Elektra slides her way in. And what she finds inside is shocking..
..absolutely nothing! The place, at least it didn't smell. But it could have used a nice little dusting. With her purse set aside and her black hair gathered into her hands, twisted, tucked here and there, shirt soon removed and tossed upon the couch she gets right to work. Cleaning. It was the least she could do. (Plus it may allow her to snoop.)
Oliver had in fact been a bit unavailable of late, considering he was in Gotham working on the campaign for Mayor which had been a bit of a priority alongside all the other activities he conducts. The Green Arrow had in fact been mostly off the streets the past couple of weeks, not seeing a need to step out into the light. This has made life a bit boring for lack of better terms and he was actually almost a little excited when he got an alert about access to the New York safehouse.
The fortunate coincidence that he was in New York on business for consolidated and only a few minutes drive from the safehouse could not be turned down. Although Oliver had a suspicion about who had gained access to the Safehouse, it was better safe than sorry so he when he arrived around 15 minutes after the access was gained by Elektra, it was with a firearm held aloof in a hand. His footfalls bring him down the metal stairs into the location, eyes scanning about to find the intruder.
Somehow, she managed to at least find the lights from memory. And fans. The A/C was kicked on and the place was easy breezy. Cool. Relaxing. The floor itself wasn't spitshined but it was swept. And the first thing that he'd notice is her there, sitting at the table where most of his arsenal had been taken (or stolen) from the confines that they were kept in and laid out, disassembled. A few tins were opened, mostly for cleaning said weaponry, a few dirtied rags laid across the table as her shoulders seem a little bit hunched.
Those first few footsteps? They have her head turning just a touch to peer over her shoulder, then turns again to continue the polishing of an arrowhead.
"Oh no." She says dryly. "Don't shoot. I'm just a poor, defenseless woman.." If there were any teasing in her voice, it would have gone missed.
"Damnit, I knew I should have changed the locks." Oliver's own quipped tone is rather dry although the barest hint of a smile has touches his lips as he puts the gun onto a nearby table when he passes by it. "I wasn't sure I'd see you here again after sneaking off the way you did. Figured you weren't one to go back to familiar spots." No, he isn't exactly hurt in his tone, that would require indepth feelings which he has given up sometime ago. Really the tone is just more bemusement.
"Do be careful with some of those, the ones that are black tipped have been polished with holy water? don't ask." The joys of dealing with Vampires has had Oliver make adjustments to his armory in the past months.
Rather than interrupt the woman's work, he goes to the sofa and sits down on it, leaning back until he feels something behind his head and pulls at the fabric, finding the discarded shirt in his hands. "Making yourself really at home, eh?"
"You changing the locks would have had the same desired effects for me. I would have found a way in. Though I'm sure you know this."
Elektra was careful with the arrowtip, holding it up towards the light that hangs over head, then carefully places it back down next to the others that were effectively cleaned. "Don't tell me you were hoping for a goodbye?" She finally watches him then, turning within her seat, her heels soon kicked up upon the bottom rung of the stool as she leans forward just a little to brace herself. She hadn't gotten to the ones that were black-tipped just yet, but that was good information to know. Holy water? No. She wasn't going to ask.
She does finally smile, and it was a little one of course. "The place was dirty. I was in a need of something mundane for now. Cleaning helps." She gestures at the table. "Besides, you did not say that I wasn't allowed here, you also did not say to never return. You didn't say much.. after all."
"Not saying much is the method of those of us that work alone, as I'm sure you know." Oliver comments back, putting his feet up as he turns on the sofa so he can keep one eye on Elektra, the other on the far wall. "Wasn't really looking for a goodbye. Not my style. Goodbyes have that whole ? feeling of parting to it. You stabbed yourself, I treated you. That's a pretty good way to view things, isn't it?"
Immovable objects and unstoppable forces colliding in personality. Despite it, Oliver still has that slightly quirkish grin on his lips. "I do appreciate the tidying though. I don't really get around to cleaning too often, especially when busy."
"Cut and dry." Elektra murmurs, leaning back to turn to pick up an arrowhead. She holds it up to the light again, then grabs the rag, wrapping it into so that she could polish with her fingers. "I could easily mention the after-the-fact." She points out. "The knowing of who you are and what you attempt to accomplish when you are not wearing your mask. From that ego to my own, it would almost seem natural to say goodbye and a word of thanks."
She sniffs a little, then drops the arrow head upon the table with a tiny little clang. "Consider it my thanks, then. And an opportunity to ask for your help. That is, if you have the time."
The sound of her voice and the clank of the arrow has Oliver sitting upright then to turn and look at Elektra fully. "Did I chink your armor finally?" He asks it, eyebrow going upwards. "You know, when I was a kid, parents made me take dance lessons. Never liked them. Still don't really like dancing all that much. What we do Elektra is definitely enough to get us killed any day. So maybe we should stop dancing and just you know, speak plainly?"
Elektra's hand lifts, then wavers about slowly before it lowers to push the arrow in place. Her hands were soon drawn against her slacks in a rubbing motion before she stands, approaching where he sits almost carefully. No sudden moves, she wasn't too sure at how far his trust extended.
"You first." She finally comments, turning slightly to settle down upon the arm of the couch, both knees kicked up as her arm rests upon the back of it. "Dancing is another joy of mine." She finally comments, her lips pursing together in a faint hint of disgust. There was no more joy in that. Not since her death. "Plainly speaking, in a weeks time there will be a dangerous shipment of artifacts that'll hit the shores of New York. And I would /like/ your help at intercepting it."
"When you say dangerous artifacts?" Oliver starts, trailing off some as he does while watching her settle in. "Dangerous to who? The public? Or your associates. I?" He sighs, closes his green eyes a bit.
"I have come to trust you a bit Elektra. You. But not necessarily your group, so who is this for? I need to know everything, every detail of what may happen, and what you want to happen. I'm willing to help you, as long as it isn't going to harm the public or innocents."
"All of us." Elektra confirms. She did have a heart, after all. "While The Hand does express interest in these artifacts, those in the upper echelons would see it destroyed." She admits. "Shockingly, I'm expected to be met with opposition. There are always -two- of them who'd usually interfere with anything that has to do with the Hand, whether bad nor good. I just need them held off long enough so I can properly acquire the artifacts themselves."
She allows her fingers to creep downward, nails lightly scratching at his scalp. The trust went both ways.. really. "So yes. It's for the Hand. As for the plan?" She grins a little, fingers curling into his hair to tug ever so slightly. "That's why I'm here. I want to try things your way for once."
Oliver's head tilts back at the pull of his hair, looking backwards and up towards Elektra, the upward tilt of his eyebrow now being sort of downward tilting due to the position. "My way? You mean without killing people and leaving a trail of bodies?" Ok, so he's making a slight joke of it from the curl of his lips but a very sardonic one. "If they're to be destroyed, wouldn't it be easiest to simply eliminate the package when it is away from delivery?"
"In a sense." Elektra fully commits to his serious side of things. He did want her to be open and honest, right? "Even though The Hand wants to eliminate everyone on board, they've given me full range of the operation. I'm of the mind that those who work aboard the cargo hold have no idea the artifacts in which they contain." Her lips purses together, then her eyes shoot up towards the ceiling in a nod. Spying the shadows there, the looks back down with a lean to press a kiss against his nose. For levity sake.
"It would. But where is the key."
A bare scrunch of Oliver's nose happens when she kisses it, giving him a slightly goofish look before it fades. His own eyes are facing upwards to the ceiling and Elektra above him as he ponders. "It would depend on the city. However I may have an idea. If you know what dock and in what city the delivery is coming in at, I could probably arrange for that dock to be off limits for a short time after the artifacts are unloaded."
"Here." She gestures towards the room. "This city. I'll get that information as soon as the Hand's sources come into play." Her fingers scratch through his scalp again before she's turning her back towards him, reaching back to snatch her shirt from his lap to hold upright, fix.. and flush out with a quick snap of her wrists.
"And how would you .. oh. You're Oliver Queen.." She grins, looking back towards him now as she bunches the shirt, then fits it over her head. "The man who would take Gotham.."
The turn of phrase brings out a short laugh from Oliver as he shakes his head, "Take? No. Try to fix, definitely." Campaign phrases set aside, his tone sounds at least moderately genuine. "There's only so much I can do at night; I think there's more that can be done by Oliver Queen than by the Arrow. Besides… I may be getting to old to go out at night."
Even as he says it, he reaches up to rub at his shoulder some, most likely a new kind of injury. "And what of you? Do you spend all your time being a ninja assassin? Or is there ever time for dinner and a movie?"
"Fix." She corrects herself. "I don't believe you can fix that place as much as you like to. There is always the option to murder the criminals that plague the city and rebuild a new but, I know some.. namely you who wouldn't appreciate such an act."
She finishes pulling her shirt on, fitting it near the bottom with a slight turn as she watches him, brows furrowing into a slight wince as she slowly stands from the chair. "Turn around."
His question, it draws a lift of her brows and a ghost of a smile. "Are you asking me out to dinner and a movie, Oliver Queen? What ever happened with shooting straight from the hip.."
He's sitting on a sofa, not entirely sure how to turn around, Oliver tilts his head and attempts to do as Elektra tells him. "I don't know, do you want me to ask you out to dinner and a movie? I'm not up to speed on my ninja protocols to know what is, and isn't accepted. Now if you were a samurai…" Again he's making light of the topic before his tone drops a bit more serious.
"Believe me, there are definitely some that I have considered the benefits of putting down permanently; but if I choose to do so… I do because there is no alternative."
Elektra slides down upon the couch, her back pressing against the arm of it, her fingers wiggling for him to situate himself in between her legs so that she could attack his shoulders with series of massages and presses. "Well, I would enjoy a night of normalcy." She glances towards the table. "Though, I consider cleaning weaponry a mundane task. So something else would be much favored. Are you into romantic comedies?" She grins, tugging at him playfully.
Though once the conversation turns serious, she remains silent. Her mind wasn't wandering, but there was something that she wanted to say.. but it remains left within the depths of her thoughts. "Inside or out." She suddenly says.
She must have been spying on him to discover that he has a secret obsession with Hugh Grant comedies of late, having caught up on several of them since his time away. A quick glance over his shoulder at her question but he refrains from completely outing himself, instead settling into her and her touch. "What do you mean, Inside or Out?"
She hasn't! Thank god. That would have been hilarious.
Though her fingers press into the parts most tense, rubbing and rolling into the sensitive spots, leaning over just a touch so that he could actually see her face. "Inside or out. Do you want to stay inside, or go for a night out in the town.." She murmurs, pushing him forward just a little so that he could turn again. "And who will cook? Who's place? Which city? Gotham or New York." She pauses. "Unless you want to be a simple man to skip the wine and dine and go for what you've already had."
Sliding forward, turning some so that he can face her a bit, Oliver's eyebrow lifts up. "Do you know how difficult it is for me, well for Oliver Queen, to go out in public and not be noticed, to not be followed by photographers? I can slip away certainly but…" He trails off and a momentarily melancholy look touches his gaze, "I don't have much of a private life as Oliver Queen."
Then that easy grin comes back to his lips, "I wouldn't want to subject a ninja to that sort of public exposure. The questions, the tabloids… it is a bit much." He hesitates as well, a pause before asking, "Did you come down here just to ask for my help?"
"Ooh. I do know.." Elektra admits. Hell, he was in every news paper even on this side of New York. A man who dares try to fix Gotham by becoming the Mayor, especially after having been gone for so long. Some regaled him as a SHIELD LMD, others figured him to be an evil clone of Oliver Queen for subjugation. Some figured he was a guardian angel. And the way he does -not- talk about himself calls to a mystery that the world would love to figure out.
If only he picked Metropolis. No one would have bat an eye.
"You wouldn't." She confesses. "My father was a very public diplomat from Greece." And those were the only words she'd speak of her past. Though, his hesitation and question causes her face to fall flat to look towards him, teeth gritted, then released. "No." She admits. "I missed you."
Her response definitely causes him to pause, eyes widening with surprise when she says it. "You… missed me?" He asks it, slowly trying to push down the surprise that the admission brought to him. "I don't even know…" Then he stops, he pauses and nods his head. "I'm glad you broke in."
His surprise definitely surprised her. She slowly nods with her confession, and his own draws her to turn him back again so that she could draw her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Inside. You cook. I'll clean. And pick The Notebook.. or something equally cheesy and sweet. How about.. Big Fish?" She turns her head just enough to capture the lobe of his ear with her teeth. "Isn't this what the kids call 'Netflix and Chill'?"
He has at least heard of the Notebook, not so much Big Fish but certain he can find it. Raising his hands he places them over hers about his shoulders, turning to her mouth after she bites his ear with her teeth. "I don't think I've ever .. Netflixed and Chilled before. New experience I guess. What do you like to eat?"
"It'll be fairly easy. I'll come to your house, you come to mine, we feed each other.. and then.." Her fingers interlace with his briefly, and as he turns, she plants a full kiss upon his lips. It was brief, even as her hand unlaces with his to creep towards his neck, fingering the tie that was there to pull the loop and tug the knot downward.
"Mediterranean, Asian.. some weird fancy infusion between the two.." She snatches at his bottom lip, tugging it into her own than releasing. "I take it your place then?"
The full kiss is not one way, he is certainly returning it, stepping closer as he does so before she pulls away. "I trust you mean your place as here? Because any other place I have would require discretion which I don't think either of us are inclined to."
Looking down at her, Oliver listens to the food comments then nods at her. "Fusion. Easily done. Are you hungry now though?" The underlining tone hints.
Elektra looks around, one brow lifted. "Here? No. I have a place here. In fact, it would be suitable for your other ego.." Not that she was bragging, she did have the wealth befitting of a daughter of a diplomat. "If you are afraid of me turning up upon your doorstep.. then be very afraid. One day, I just may come knocking." Though her tone was teasing, there was a hint of seriousness to it. And all the while, she continues to manuver his clothing, unbuttoning one button at a time. There was enough pause in her movements for him to grip her wrists to stop. And if he doesn't..
"Yes." She finally murmurs after a long moment.. "I am famished."
"If you have a place here… that isn't terribly far off." Oliver's words trail off as he leans forward, tracing his lips over hers in a kiss before pulling away again. "I do not worry about you turning up on my doorstep, just know that there are usually people in the house. The roof is generally open."
She leans into the kiss, her eyes closing briefly until it was all over. Even then her motions are fluid, with a sidelean to sneak her fingers into her purse to retrieve a set of keys that she keeps there to dangle in front of his eyes. "Then consider my place your solace." Chances are, it was left alone like this safehouse was. She was always on the go. "I trust you can find it? Details are in your phone.."
With her fingers capturing his chin to draw his gaze away, she attacks his neck with lavish kisses and light bites. "See you in a few hours, Oliver.." And with a last nip and tug of his earlobe, she's shifting from behind him to stand upon her feet with a sweeping grab of her purse to depart.