Issue 1 Downtime

Melody sat with a stack of large bills in front of her on the bar, counting them, occasionally stopping to take a drink from the large tumbler of scotch she had near her. Some people just didn’t seem to care about paying for insurance anymore. Not that they had buildings to worry about any longer either.

That boring work was all behind her now, at least she hoped. She was happy to finally be overseas, doing something different. Maybe for the first time in quite a while she could see some excitement in the workplace again.

"Always nice to see a new face." Heartbreaker said, sitting down beside Melody.

Melody grunted in response, in the middle of counting. She set the last bill down after a moment, and turned to face Heartbreaker, eyeing her up and down. “Likewise. What’s shakin’? I’m Mel. Guess Bombshell works too. What do you drink?” she asked, taking a sip of her scotch.

"Tequila" she replied as the bartender set a glass in front of her "Rachel, Heartbreaker if we're being official."

Mel looked at her watch and scoffed, “It’s too fuckin’ late to be official. Pleasure,” she said extending her hand for a shake. With her other hand, she slid one of the bills to the bartender, and nodded her head in Rachel’s direction.

"Thanks." Rachel said, knocking back her shot.

“I do what I can. Dude, keep them coming as long as she wants ‘em,” she called over to the bartender. “So what do you do around here? Business or pleasure. Don’t matter which you care to shoot the shit about.”

"Business is simple, I do what the General needs done." Rachel said with a smile "Pleasure is more interesting."

“Isn’t it though?” she grinned. “A lot of times I try to combine the two, though. Makes life much more fun.”

"It is nice when it works out like that." Heartbreaker agreed.

“I’m pretty easy to please though,” she said with a contented sigh after taking a long drag from her scotch. “Give me some money for blowing something or someone up? If that’s not pleasurable business, I don’t know what is. Have you ever seen someone’s head explode from the inside out? Like that ancient movie I was terrified of when I was five…prick father loved it….oh what the hell was it. Scanners, that’s it. It’s incredible.”

"I haven't see that, but I have seen someone die because suddenly they lost the ability to breathe." Rachel said, taking a delicate sip of her tequila "Takes a few minutes"

"I like you already. You've got style," she grinned. "A teep then, I take it?"

"Got it in one." she said with a little smile.

"So what's the best thing for a girl to do for fun in London these days? I really don't know what I'll be doing here yet--beyond 'whatever the General says,' mind you," she asked.

"There are lots of clubs, if you're into dancing, or into other things, and plenty of house parties. I'm sure that you'll get plenty of invites, everyone will want to meet the General's new golden girl."

"Golden girl? Flattery will get you very far, my friend,'" she grinned. "I'm just your average girl...who happens to be very good at blowing things up with no explosives but the ones I make."

"Oh, I'm sure that isn't all you're good at." Rachel said with a little wink.

"This is true," she smirked. "I make a mean apple pie."

"Do you also knit?" Heartbreaker asked with a grin "Because if you can knit, I might have to ask you to gay marry me."

"Shit you not, I do. I even darn socks on occasion because I'm a cheap motherfucker.  You should probably get me drunk and take me for a test spin before you commit to that though, no?" she laughed.

"Sounds like a plan." Heartbreaker said, nodding to the bartender to set up another round.

Melody grinned, "I like the way you think. Lemme go grab a cigarette and make a quick phone call outside and we can continue our introduction. Don't go running away now."

She got up, left for about ten minutes, and returned, hopping up on the barstool to find a new drink in front of it.

"To poor--or are they excellent?--decisions, Rachel," she toasted, hefting her glass.

"Yes." Heartbreaker said with grin as she clicked her glass against Bombshell's.

"Hopefully you didn't drug my drink. I'm far more fun when conscious," she giggled after downing her glass in one gulp.

"I'm almost offended by the idea that I'd have to drug you to have my wicked way with you."

"Never," she grinned. "Just ask nicely. Buying a girl a drink or two always helps, but you seem to have taken care of that much."

"How is this for nice?" Heartbreaker asked, gently stimulating the pleasure center of Bombshell's brain.

Melody shuddered in the middle of bringing her glass to her lips and managed to spill a fair amount on her shirt. Gripping the bar lightly with one hand, she set her drink down, apparently not terribly bothered by the spill, and grinned.

"Rachel, I like you more every minute."

"And I'm just getting warmed up." Heartbraker said with a wink.

"Well, I hope I can compete," she said, shaking her head a bit to clear the extremely pleasant fog that was there.

"I'm sure you've got a few tricks up your sleeve."

"Truth be told," she smirked into her drink as she twirled it on the bar, "I've never tried with a girl. But I imagine I can improvise..."

"I'm sure you could. Or my boyfriend would be more than glad to help out."

"I'm assuming someone as hot as you has an equally hot guy?" she grinned. "As long as he'd be okay sharing you."

"Oh, he has no problem with sharing. And yeah, he's hot. If you like fallen angels, that is"

"He. Has. Wings?" she asked excitedly.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Let me get this straight. I have, in the past hour, met a hot girl, bought and received rounds of drinks for and from said girl, and now learn she has a hot guy who likes sharing. FUCK. I LOVE LONDON."

"It can be awesome." Heartbreaker said with a grin.

"I guess the only real questions I have are why we're still here, and where your man is," she giggled

"We were here to get liquored up, and my man is back at our flat. Which is where we should be heading."