Subject: [OTL]: Luck Be A Lady Tonight 7/13 Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 10:56:39 -0900 From: D Beck DISCLAIMER: Don't own them, Marvel Comics and the WildStorm Productions division of DC Comics do. If anyone needs previous parts to this story, it can be found on the Fonts of Wisdom archive at http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/. You can also email me privately for missing parts. And, as always, feedback is much appreciated! CHAPTER 7 *BEEP* "Sorry, but I'm not in right now. If you dialed this number, then you either have the wrong one or you are one of five people. If you are one of those five people, please punch in your access code at the beep and follow the instructions..... *BEEP* "Hey Zabin, what's up buddy? I'm not in, but I'm not out on a mission, either. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you in a few. Love ya!" *BEEP* "Lucky, we've got a problem. I've sent you someone with information, so be expecting her." *CLICK* ******************************** Domino paced irritably inside a comfortably furnished room on the twentieth floor of the H.A.L.O. building owned by entrepreneur Jacob Marlowe. The view of the New York skyline was impressive, and on another day, she might have admired it. However, she had been waiting for over half an hour for Grifter to get out of a meeting. She glanced down at her watch again for the tenth time in five minutes and groaned quietly. Domino *hated* waiting. And she was starving. "FINE!" The door to the right of Domino slammed open with a loud bang, leaving a nasty black mark on the wall. Grifter stood in the doorway, his face flushed as he continued yelling at the people behind him. "Do whatever the hell you want! But don't expect me to be a part of it!" "Grifter--" Cole ignored the white-haired woman who was calling after him and stalked up to Domino. Grabbing her hand, he yanked her towards another door. He flung it open and dragged her out into the hallway. "Let him go, Zannah. He is only human." John Colt was every bit a Kheribum Lord. Arrogant and imposing. "But--" Zealot's eyes followed the pair out the door. She felt a deep stab of jealousy watching Cole leave with another woman. Another Coda. John walked up behind Zealot and placed his hands possesively on her shoulders. "We don't need him, Zannah." "Don't be such a shit, Yon Kohl," said a green-haired young man in disgust. His eyes also followed Domino and Grifter out the door. Zealot smiled faintly at Reno's remark. And for the first time, she questioned the path she was on. Was she doing the right thing? Yes, Yon Kohl *was* a fellow Kheribum....But Grifter had been her brother-in-arms, her world for so many years now. She had loved him completely, once. As she had once felt for Yon Kohl. "Want me to slam this one for you," Domino asked lightly, glancing at the door behind them. Cole Cash didn't answer. He continued to stalk down the hallway to the elevator, muttering under his breath. Domino stared after him for a second, shrugged, and followed him into the elevator. Maybe now she could finally get some lunch. Ten minutes and eleven floors later, they were both too far away to hear the sound of shattering glass in the room they had just left. ********************** Theresa Cassidy lugged yet another heavy box into Shatterstar's room. The two of them had spent the morning dodging Cable with boxes of guns in their arms. They still hadn't figured out how to get the boxes out of the mansion yet. "I hope that's the last one," she sighed. Siryn might as well have been talking to air. Shatterstar had been silent all morning. Normally, that might not have meant too much, but Terry knew better today. He looked so lost.... "C'mon, 'Star. Let's get something to eat. Then we can figure out how to you and these guns out of Westchester." As the pair walked out of his room, Tabitha Smith whistled softly from the doorway of her room down the hall. "Gettin' your freak on, Terry? And here I thought you and Jimmy had that whole sexual tension thing goin' on." "For heaven's sake, Tabitha, ye should be--" Meltdown rolled her eyes. Siryn could be such a prude sometimes. "What*ever* Terry." Theresa gave up. *********************** In New York, Domino regarded Grifter cautiously across a table in a downtown deli. He was ferociously stabbing chunks of potato salad with his fork, still muttering under his breath. She glanced at watch and shook her head, reaching out to grab his hand. "C'mon, Cole. You're only allowed one hour to fume. Time's up." She smiled at him softly and pulled the fork out of his hand gently. "Stop butchering the potato salad. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food." Cole scowled at her. "She never really taught me much of anything." Damn. Domino inwardly cursed herself for inadvertantly hitting on one of his sore spots. Throwing some bills on the table, she stood up. "You have a place to stay," she queried softly. She took his lack of answer to be an affirmation and tugged on his hand. "Well, you can stay at my place. Want to go back to H.A.L.O to get your things?" "I don't really want to go back there, Dom. Not yet." Sighing, she hailed a cab outside the deli. "Well, somehow, I don't see you exactly fitting into my nightie. Sorry." "You own a nightie? I thought you just slept in a uniform. With holsters. And guns." Domino laughed. She hated it when Grifter got into one of the angry funks, mainly because they tended to last for days. And he had a nasty habit of making everyone around him as miserable as he was. "The nightie's for special occasions." "And do I qualify as a special occasion," he asked as he wrapped his hand around hers, finally smiling. "You wish." Domino gave him a playful shove. "Now get in the cab. I've had my quota of emotional trauma for the day." Laughing, Grifter did as he was told, settling in with his arm comfortably wrapped around her. He leaned into her, lightly brushing her cheek with his lips. "Thank you." "Anytime, Deadeye, anytime." NEXT CHAPTER: It all starts to come together! The Prime Sentinels begin their campaign! And Domino and Grifter learn what's behind it all.... See, I really do have a plot after all. :)