Audience of One

[Jamie Kane]

If his upstairs neighbor had any clue exactly how much time he spent crouching on fire escapes, usually in the cold and damp, their growing habit of hanging out on the one they shared wouldn't seem out of place in the slightest.  It wasn't exactly a place he liked finding himself outside of their little chats, but it was effective - the people he was being paid to spy on didn't tend to notice someone across the street and a building over on a fire escape getting just the right angle through the crack in their curtains for photographic proof of their indiscretions.  Not all of them were that easy, but most of them were.  He was getting damn good at the computer angle for a few of the cases that required a bit of a tech touch, but honestly?  Most of his work was best when simplified - practical effects held up against the test of time.

For this particular number, there hadn't been an easy, or even a moderately difficult, angle to get a look inside a window while maintaining a nice, safe distance in case anything got too crazy, but he'd gotten lucky in another way.  It was riskier and he hated it, but the apartment next door to his mark's place was empty, and it shared fire escapes.  That put him right outside their window, peeking carefully inside with his camera ready to snap everything he needed as quickly as he could so that he could also take off sooner rather than later.  The wind this late at night still had bite to it, and all it took was someone catching a glimpse of him from inside to blow this whole situation up.  It was a glamorous life of both looking and sometimes feeling like a total creep, even though he wasn't the one getting caught cheating.

As expected, the couple made their way into the light of the room, entangled in each other and quickly shedding clothes.  He made sure he would absolutely have a few shots that showed the husband's face as clearly as possible, just so that there was no doubt whatsoever about who it was, and though he wasn't always inclined to share a mistress's identity with an angry, hurt and emotionally compromised wife, he made sure there would be a few pictures that didn't have her features obscured, as well.  Those were just in case he needed them, and once the pair hit a certain point, he backed off and turned away.  He had his evidence without lingering for the full spectacle, and he was freezing his ass off despite the fingerless gloves and scarf he'd grabbed on the way out.  They were full of shit when they said it would shape up to be a warm spring.

It was as he was crawling back in through the window that he caught something out of the corner of his eye from a different apartment.  The angle was weird, but if he leaned over the edge of the escape's railing, he could probably get his camera in for a decent shot.  It wasn't for a job when he started snapping an arguing couple as the man took a wild swing at his female companion and sent her stumbling backward.  She threw her hands up in defense and he followed her, body language threatening and leaving no doubt that he'd hit her again, but he had his proof.  Whether she would be willing to press charges was entirely up in the air, but if he dropped them off at the police station, maybe the cops could talk her into it.  Either way, he pulled his phone out, taking note of the apartment even from the outside of the building, and put a 911 call in as he eased the window shut behind him and quietly eased his way through the quiet apartment.

"Hello, yes?  Could you send an officer out?  There's a lot of yelling and screaming coming from my neighbor's apartment..."

No, he would not stay on the line, but he silently stopped outside the door after giving the operator the address and whatever details he could and hanging up.  He wanted to think the guy wouldn't kill her, but honestly?  He didn't believe the cops would get there in time to do anything, if they took his report all that seriously.  It wasn't like he could tell them he was sitting there watching through the window and saw the guy beating on her, and he knew for a fact it took the city cops about ten minutes to make it out to a call that wasn't deemed absolutely critical.  If she didn't take him seriously, it'd probably be 15.  Since it didn't sound like it was letting up, he made a different call.

He wasn't some hero about to bust in the door, and he didn't actually think he could break down a door if he had a took to help him along.  He probably could have gotten past the lock and a chain lock wasn't all that difficult to break, but that was the kind of thing that would end up with people dead.  It was a lot less violent to hit the fire alarm as he made his way down the hall, setting it shrieking through the building as he cut a quick pace out the front. 

He maintained that pace for a solid block before he dropped to a more casual stroll in the direction of home.

[Lilyana Winter]

 Lilyana, Jenny, and Timber had decided to go out for a final girl's night before they went their separate ways. Jenny had put in her official hiatus paperwork with Frost, and Lily was on a long leave of absence following Tucker's return until things got way more settled. Timber was staying right where she was, because she was the only one not yet to experience a massive life upheaval. Lucky her. They had fun dancing and drinking and all of the other things that bad girls liked to do, and now as they walked back Timber had stopped to admire a jacket on a mannequin in a storefront window.

Lily was the most sober out of all of them; after the issues she'd been having with Zaine, she felt it best not to get too intoxicated. She looked down at her phone, sighing angrily as she realized that their uber was still at least twenty minutes out. It was like, the witching hour for transport apparently. She thought about calling Mandy, but she really didn't want to contact anyone from that whole situation. It would kill her buzz.

"Timber, let's go, we're still like two blocks away from where we said we'd be to get picked up," Lily called.

Timber's head was tilted back as she looked up at the mannequin, blue eyes practically saucers. "But I want it..." she trailed off. "It's so pretty."

Jenny snuggled up on her, holding a hand out to frame the jacket. "I can picture you in it. You look powerful," she slurred.

"Yeah?" Timber said, looking at her friend. She looked back at the jacket, still dreamy.

"Tim. Tam." Lily clapped on the T's of both words. "JeNny, let's GO," she urged. Jesus, it was like fucking herding cats. Who made her the mom?

"It's going down, I'm yelling T I M B E R!" Timber suddenly hollered. Lily whipped around, having prepared to walk away from them both, but the sound of glass breaking was enough to get her attention. Her blood was absolutely boiling. Jenny had snuggled a nice, large decorative rock from one of the plant fixtures into Timber's hand, and then Timber had thrown it right through the window.

"For FUCK SAKE!" Lily screamed. "Don't just stand there, birdbrain, let's GO!" she demanded. The three girls ran down the street, the two drunkards screaming and giggling, while one attempted to pull on a very chic leather jacket. They looked like a pack of raccoons, all smudged eyeliner and bright eyed (and thieving) as they rounded the corner. With a sudden woosh, they all split, running around a single soul on the sidewalk. Even drunk, hunters still had good dexterity, it seemed.

The trio of glittering, giggling, drunk raccoons had happened upon Jamie. A brunette, a blonde, and a redhead pass you on the street - it sounded like the beginning of a joke.

"Come on, leave it, we've got to go," Lily pressed.

"Like my new jacket?" Timber asked, ignoring her blonde friend. "Gee thanks, just stole it."

Jenny burst into hysterical laughter at the 7 Rings reference, attempting to cover her face and taking to leaning on a lamp post for support. Nobody but Jenny knew why that was so funny.

[Jamie Kane]

Lily didn't have to like it, but Tucker had essentially made her the mom and it seemed like it was something that was following her in other interactions.  Of course, hanging out with Timber and Jenny when they obviously needed an adult wasn't helping her escape that role in the slightest, but they weren't the only ones who could have benefited from her presence.  Even as she was trying to herd them, Mandy was much more effective in herding Tucker to the Hollow to meet up with a 'friend' of hers that she said had changed her mind.  Changes were upon them, they just didn't know what those changes would mean. Lily was going to be getting a phone call she didn't want before the night was finished, though.

What might have changed if she'd called Mandy instead of an uber?

It didn't seem like Jamie's night would have changed much regardless of Lily's decisions, but he stopped walking as he was essentially surrounded by the three obviously drunk women.  He had this strange impression (one that told him he obviously read far too much) of the three of them in a nearly pack formation, spreading around him and rushing past him like they were playing with him before coming to rest in a way that wasn't obviously intended to be threatening, but it was too...predatory.  Their made up party faces were smudged, or maybe that was the kind of 'smokey eye' some of them were going for, stood out like war paint in the sharp, almost noir lighting that ranged from stark bright light to long, hard shadows cast from streetlights that were planted to make the street seem less ominous.  When facing down a pack of raccoon-eyed jackals, he wasn't sure they'd quite hit the mark, but his feet were planted in place, hands in his coat pockets and his camera tucked into his jacket beneath the scarf.  He was dressed for the cold and the dark, except for the bright red hair - it was probably what had drawn their attention, or maybe it was just that he was alone on the sidewalk, but he wasn't afraid.

Actually, that was a lie, he was absolutely afraid, but not for his own physical well-being.  If they attacked him, they would die unless they were somehow faster than his reflexes, which he doubted.  It wasn't what he wanted to happen, it wasn't ever okay for him, but it had built a level of confidence in him that seemed tired and accepting.  He would do what he had to, but only if he had to.

The blonde amazon was more watchful, focused on their surroundings and continuing to move, but her companions were lingering, one far too casual, one bragging about her recent theft.  He'd heard the breaking glass and shouting, so that filled in a few blanks.  The line from the redhead that made her brunette friend start cackling didn't prompt the same understanding from him, but that didn't entirely surprise him. 

"This block is going to be swarming with emergency vehicles in about two minutes, I'm surprised we can't hear the sirens, yet.  You sure you wanna do this?" he asked, voice calm, but he knew something they didn't - specifically that the city thought the building he just left was on fire.  If the store they'd hit had a silent alarm, it wouldn't take much to send someone this way while they were at it.

[Jenny Battaglia]

 Jenny surveyed their new friend from her position at the pole, then approached as he spoke. She could hear the edge on his voice. "Lighten up," she said, waving her hand at him. "We're just having a good time. Nobody's doing anything." She paused. "Well, Timber did just get a new jacket, but, beyond that." She smiled at him, and it was a broad grin, one that suggested it got her into more trouble than it got her out of.

"Where you headed all alone? Don't you know it's not safe for young folks out here? Lots of oogey boogeys out in the city," she warned. She was still drunk, obviously, but it was in that playful sort of way. She didn't try to advance on him any. Timber had busied herself on her phone, texting her brother in law no doubt to tell him she'd just committed a crime (Zeke couldn't believe he'd married into this fucking family ever, at any point).

"Jenny, leave him alone. I'm sure he's not interested in hearing how creepy the city is. I'm sure he knows. Can we go now?" Lily pressed. It was obvious she was the most sober of the three, and she walked back closer to them all to bring herself into the conversation so she could, hopefully, cut it short. She certainly didn't need to do it to hear - her vulpine hearing was good enough to pick up on those sirens that he'd warned about before anyone else did.

"Come on, it's time to go," she demanded. "Bring your new friend, I don't care. Let's go."