On The Wing [Open]

[Cameron Moynahan]

Had she brushed her hair to a silky black shine?

Yes.

Had she slipped into the slimmest pair of black leggings she owned, so well-shaped that they accented her butt perfectly?

Yes.

And had she donned the best, silkiest, lowest-cut blouse she could find, one that showed off her ample bosom for all the world to see?

Yes.

“I look damn good,” Cameron Moynahan said to the mirror, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Now all that was left to do was pull on her black knee-high boots, and she would be off to the premiere.

Her new club, The Regency, was having its grand opening tonight. With her other business partner having bowed out, the pressure was all on her now. But she thought she was doing well; she had movie stars, sports players, socialites of all kinds attending. It would be newsworthy. It would be downright fun. She was sure of it.

However. She knew that, news coverage or no, her silent partner would be watching. Now that she was alone in keeping the business together, she was almost dependent on his help. It had not been difficult to enlist his help; all she had done was mention that she wanted to open a club, and he had offered to help. No conditions, except that his part remain anonymous.

But she had no false notions about that. There would be plenty he would want to change about her club. She knew it. He always did. He had always pushed her to do better, to be perfect. And even he admitted there was no such thing as perfection.

Would he approve of her chosen attire for the night?

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell no.

“Fuck you, big brother,” she said to the mirror before blowing a kiss, and lacing up the second of her boots. Then, a limo’s ride later, she was at her club. The Regency was beautiful., all lit up in blues and greens. She smiled up at it, and then at the massive crowd that was waiting for her. She strode down the red carpet, and stopped just short of the door, where an assistant was waiting with a huge, blunt pair of scissors. Cameron took them and grinned.

“Shall we, ladies and gentlemen?”

And with a snip, the ribbon fell away, and the doors opened to welcome a line of guests into The Regency.

[Eric Adler]

"I been warped by the rain
Driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty, don't ya know"

Sometimes Eric Adler didn't know how he'd come so far. The young man didn't really understand how things had turned out the way they had... From the moment he'd met Gwen Mathews all those years ago... The young Mister Adler had developed abilities. He'd become special, so to speak. He hadn't asked for these powers, nor did he always want them. They'd brought trouble to him in ways that he'd never ever expect. The young man's own personality didn't help, nor did the fact that after a few years Eric's powers had evolved and changed into something much more. When he'd first developed his abilities Eric had only been able to absorb energy and redirect it... Now, once his powers had evolved and developed further, the young man was able to control and manipulate all sorts of energy. It was miraculous to say the least, but sure enough one way or another things always led Eric to find himself in a bit of trouble.

The young man found himself back in Manhattan after a lengthy time away from home. After losing Mel, Eric found himself wandering here and there. He drifted to and fro like a piece of wood lost at sea. The young man had been arrested once, but found himself free from any charge and out of that jam due to an unruly, annoying assassin. Sure, they hit it off eventually, but at first they hated one another. Eric continued to make his way across the country without any real destination in mind. Eventually though, Eric found himself home. It'd been years, however the city still looked the same as it always did. That was one of the great things about New York City. No matter how many new stores cropped up or how many things changed... Deep down inside the city was still the same. Before long Eric knew that he would have to head home to see his family... But until then, Eric was going to visit a few of his old haunts and see if there were any familiar faces lying around.

As the young man approached one of the bars he used to frequent, Eric raised his brow. It appeared as though O'Reilly's had been bought in his time away from home. Instead, the old-school bar that he'd come to love had been transformed into a brand new club that was calling itself the Regency. Eric eyed the establishment for a moment as people filtered in. He was skeptical about trying something new... Eventually though, Eric gave into his inner demons and made his way into the club with a throng of early twenty-somethings. Luckily, Eric had been prepared for visiting his family and was dressed to play the part of some yuppie working on Wall Street. He fit the part and blended in perfectly with the masses, even if he hated most of them. Truth be told, Eric's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he wanted to see what this new place was about. If anything, he wanted a drink to pay his respects to his beloved O'Reilly's.

As Eric navigated a path to the bar and side stepped a few kids who had obviously pre-gamed a bit too hard earlier, the young man couldn't help but to smirk. This was certainly New York. It may not have been a part of New York that he loved, but it was certainly a part of the city that he'd come to know. With the smirk on his face fading, the young man approached the bar and eyed the bartender. "Jack on the Rocks." The young man smirked and paid for the drink before sipping it slightly. He relished in the taste of the smooth whiskey as it slid down his throat. As he finished his sip, Eric found himself lurching forward slightly. Some jackass had bumped into him, forcing him to spill his drink. Eric eyed the guy angrily, who didn't seem to care in the slightest. "Watch where you're fuckin' going." Eric spat angrily towards the twat-muffin. The kid didn't seem to care and scoffed at Eric before ignoring him before setting his cell phone down on the bar and ordering his own drink. Eric almost smacked the kid upside the head right then and there, but thought better. He didn't need to be the first person thrown out of this shiny new club... He certainly had better things to do... Still, that didn't stop Eric from 'accidentally' brushing his hand against the kid's cell phone and absorbing all of the power the device had. Eric smirked again and sipped his drinks. Life was all about the little things.

[Alice Taylor]

Alice rarely received celebrity invitations for events nowadays. Moving away from the land of movies and make-belief, the young mother of a beautiful little sweetheart made herself less publicly known in order to protect her family's privacy. While she hadn't been on a theatre big screen for years, Alice kept herself busy, being hired as Ark Industries' Head of Finance.

Despite the importance of the role, being in direct control over all of Ark's treasury, she was actually the most junior of all department heads. The dynamics between the Projects Committee and the Administrative Committee was also interesting, to say the least. While the leaders of Ark's three great divisions, along with their subdivision heads, paved the way for the company's domination over its competitors, Alice often found herself being the one to rain on their parades. Yes, Ark Industries was one of the most successful businesses in the world, and yes, there were no banks in the world that would refuse to extend loans to Ark, but to build a true powerhouse that would last through the ages required careful and sustainable growth. Even with the kinds of assets at her disposal, along with the earnings ever growing, Alice could not keep up with the demands of the Divisions.

Thus, it was up to the former actress to put on a show, and put on shows good enough to convince every division to compromise on their scarce resource demands. Fortunately, Alice was still a good enough performer to make most division and subdivision leaders see things her way. It was a pretty intricate set of deals, and it was so perfect too, if the last subdivision leader would agree to her terms. This last subdivision head was newly promoted, and her budget demands seemed outright ridiculous to Alice. However, due to the nature of military projects, Alice found it hard to verify where money goes after it was funnelled into the Military Projects Division. Matters only got worse with this new Head of Security Subdivision. For the first time in Ark's history, a Subdivision refused to open the books for the Finance Department, claiming protection due to their work being military secrets. The young blonde had already tried appealing to her CEO, Christian Moynahan. The charismatic man assured Alice that it was a mere negotiation tactic from a very unique individual, one that was perfect for her role due to her utter separation of business and personal matters. He suggested to take the negotiation to the soon-opening Regency club, instead of the usual high end restaurant or boardroom, and handed Alice an invitation to the club's grand opening, good for herself and one guest.

[Fiona Kingsleigh]

Fiona wasn't born yesterday.  She wondered what her dear friend wished to accomplish, flying her out to New York to conduct their budget negotiations in a building that Ark had just purchased that day.  Fiona was ready for anything that would come her way, having the perfect responses to every question and accusation that could be hurled at her, and she would shut them all down until she got the funds she wanted.  That meeting lasted about ten minutes, with the gorgeous Alice Taylor sitting across the giant boardroom table enjoying a Mocha-Frappuccino from Starbucks, not saying a single word until she finished her drink.

"We're not getting anywhere with this," said Alice. "Let's continue our very formal and very serious negotiations tomorrow morning.  Meanwhile..."

Alice slid her Regency invitation over to Fiona across the table.  "You should totally be my plus one tonight!  It'll be fun, I promise!"

It really didn't take a genius to figure that Alice would try to somehow get the deal done in her favour before tomorrow morning, possibly hoping that a party, some celebrity sightings, and a lot of booze would do the trick.  She was in for some huge disappointments, Fiona thought to herself.

"I'm in!  Let me just call David and tell him I won't be home, or sleeping, tonight."

Hoping that perhaps Alice forgot that Fiona was a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and partying like there's no tomorrow every Saturday was a prerequisite for engineering students, she was almost afraid that the night would end with Fiona pulling Alice's hair back in the women's restroom as she puked from trying to get Fiona drunk.  Nevertheless, the two friends left in a limo together outside their hotel, and found themselves outside the Regency where the owner was about to cut the ribbon.  

Fiona didn't bring anything other than formal business wear on this trip, believing she'd be back in Los Angeles before dinner.  Having no alternative, she wore the attires Alice had sent to her hotel room.  It was a simple but elegant rose-red dress, beautiful but comfortable, with matching red heels.  Alice had on an identical baby-blue dress and blue heels.  All the camera flashes were bothering Fiona, and after Alice stopped Fiona from pressing the Red Button of Doom on Fiona's "watch-like device" (Alice still have no idea what would have happened), the two friends, arm in arm, walked down the red carpet to enter the biggest party of the season in New York.

Fiona was beginning to lose count of all the drinks she and Alice were offered by everyone around them.  She was starting to loosen up a little, and she was fine with it so long as Alice was always just a little more drunk, in case the blonde would suddenly try talking business.  On the surface though, Alice genuinely seemed like she was here to have a fun night.  The blonde knew way more people at this club than Fiona knew in her lifetime.  It was actually refreshing when Alice wanted to approach someone that they both didn't know.

The two took the seats beside a young man sipping on Jack on the Rocks, up at the bar.  Fiona and Alice both slipped the bartender $100 each, asking him to pour two glasses of their finest wines, one red, and one white.  They then asked the bartender to send both glasses to the owner of the establishment, along with a note written on a paper napkin with lipstick.

"Enjoy Your Liquid Skills of Choice
Prepare for Dance Battle

A.T. & F.K."

[Allyson Pendergrass]

Free time was somewhat of a rare event in the recent months for one Allyson Pendergrass. Her work – in both workplaces – had become all but a monotonous routine of never-ending consultations with her patients. Whether it was in a scientific or therapeutic breath was much less a matter of importance and much more a detail of her separate lives and it was that small detail that had caused a ripple between her and her husband.

Much like her family and friends, Michael believed she had one job – and that job was a therapist for a small company in the heart of New York City. The reality, however, was much different – and more secretive than could ever be comprehended. Though still a therapist and scientist at heart, Allyson’s second job required her to delve into the minds of her patients much more and far deeper than she had ever done with any of her clients.

So it was understandable then, that when she had to work overtime at Lux Aeterna, Michael started asking questions. Questions about her clients. Questions about her job. Questions about why she never turned up at her workplace when she said she was working.

“Are you following me?” Allyson hissed, her speech uncompromising and cruel. Venom dripping thick from a snakes fang.
“No...” A pause, “Maybe. It’s not what you think.” Michael sputtered, his voice trembling in nervous discomfort.
Allyson lolled her head slightly to the right and raised an eyebrow, a look of curiousness spread across her features, “And you know what I’m thinking, right?” She threw her words at him.
“Well… No… I..-”
“You what? Thought you’d drive behind me when I go to work?”
“You… never go to work, though.”
“I don’t have to listen to this.”

Before Michael had a chance to open his mouth and respond, Allyson was out of the door. She was still in a fairly formal dark red blouse – one which she had worn to work. Her heels were starting to make her feet hurt though that seemed, in the moment, like the least of her worries.

She didn’t know where to go or what to do – and that was something she did not enjoy in the slightest. Allyson Pendergrass always had a plan of action. She thrived in routine and lived for order. Every piece has its puzzle and every puzzle had its place. But to be wandering the streets of New York during the late evening without so much as an idea of where she was headed somehow made her life seem somewhat chaotic and without reason.

Her head swam and thumped with each thought; where would she go? She couldn’t exactly go home – that would only result in an argument. No, not an argument. It would result in a heated discussion that she had no interest in partaking in. She couldn’t tell Michael what it was she was doing though she didn’t want to lie. However if she said nothing, he would think the worst. And she couldn’t have that. So what could she do?

Stopping to check her phone, Allyson’s ears caught wind of a distant and extremely bass-y drum beat that was coming from nearby. Her head shot from side to side to triangulate on where it was coming from and soon enough, she found the source. A night club.

It seemed to be on its opening night; there were cameras and limousines with a red ribbon to match. Above the canopy of the door was a brightly illuminated sign; the Regency. The Madness of King George. King George the Third was deemed unfit to rule and the Prince of Wales ruled as the Prince Regent. The nightclubs’ building; which, from a glance, seemed to have at least been partially (if not coincidentally) inspired by the regency, was something quite marvellous to behold. It looked majestic and inviting. Almost awe-inspiring.

And as Allyson’s eyes drifted with a stimulated and gormless gaze down the building, her pupils dilated with the bright luminescence of the spot lights. Her face lit up with a thousand stars as she approached the brightly lit club.

When she entered the club, her whole body was thrown into the thumping of music and the delirium that came with being surrounded by intoxicated drunkards. But there was something else.

There was always something else.

Specials.

There were always specials. She looked around and inhaled, ignoring her senses.

She wanted to escape her work. Get away from her skills. Tonight, now, she wanted to be anonymous and unknown. A mystery to the world. She wanted an escape.

“Martini.” Allyson looked up to the bartender, her lips forming a distant smile, “Please.”

Her gaze looked around and she watched three people; two women and a man; talk. Maybe she could escape her life for tonight but that wasn’t to say she couldn’t observe others’ lives, surely?

[Lilith]

Security detail. Really?

End up a puppet to the world’s most overprotective brother, see what happens. She was not happy about this. Unpaid, unthanked. Not even allowed to dress the way she wanted, which would have involved black leather and a serious longcoat. But no, couldn’t risk being identified. She felt the long red hair in place of her short black locks was more enough, but apparently not. Or apparently Famine just wanted to torture her.

Lesson learned. Don’t cross him. Fine. At least she had a bit more access to her ability tonight. Her ability was an old friend, a comfort. She would be happy to use it, but she also knew Famine would take it away completely if she used it without good reason. He was watching. She wondered whether his sister was aware of that.

From where she was sitting at the bar, Lila could see everything on the first floor, from the door to the bar. There was a nice sized crowd, almost full, plenty of activity on the dance floor too. Lila could sense them all. With a slight gesture, she signaled the bartender and ordered a vodka cranberry. At least she was not paying for her own drinks. That is, she was, but she would be reimbursed later.

There was a slight altercation when some guy bumped into the one seated beside her at the bar, and Lila raised her head to see what would happen next. Too obvious. She ducked back down; but by then the offender had moved on, sitting on the next seat like it was no big deal. A slight short blinked in the periphery of her ability. Interesting.

Lila lifted the glass to her lips and peered at the guy next to her. “That’s one way to handle it,” she said with the tiniest nod toward the loser’s cell phone. The energy transfer had been subtle enough, but she had been communicating with energy for years. “But don’t worry. It’ll be our little secret.” She smirked. “I needed that amusement.”


(Outfit - and remember, she has red hair.)

[Cameron Moynahan]

Everything was beautiful. At first, Cameron stood outside, welcoming people in, chatting with the press; but she had to join her guests too, and soon she left the line outside to observe what was happening indoors. The DJ seemed to have been a good choice, as there were a good amount of people dancing. A quick visit to the second floor showed that the VIPs of the night were enjoying themselves, and that everything in the club was in perfect working order.

And perhaps it was for the best that Cami had included her brother in her plans, because he would have included himself anyway. There was the fact that he was very secretly funding the majority of the club's operations until it became profitable on its own. There was the guest he had gotten in for the sole purpose of keeping everyone safe; never mind that the guest was someone who had previously held everyone as her own captives, she was on his leash now. And there were the tickets he had given to Alice Taylor, guaranteeing her a place inside the grand opening.

Cami was bustling around so much that it was almost odd to be stopped. One of her staff approached her with two glasses of wine - one red, one white - and a napkin. Reading the napkin-note, Cami laughed. Awesome! “Take me to them,” Cami said to the staffer, who then directed her to the blondes at the bar.

As she walked over, Cami threw back the glass of white wine. Should she be drinking? Maybe, maybe not, but hell, she was having fun! Someone collected the empty glass from their boss lady and she leaned in between the shoulders of “A. T.” and “K. F.”

Fortunately, Cami did not know her brother’s employees or friends - or other associates, one of whom was peering around loose red strands at her, a glass of vodka cranberry raised to her lips. “A dance battle, ladies? How could I resist?” Cami gave them a sly smile. “Cami Moynahan. But with the two of you - well, I think I need a partner.” Cami rested a hand on the shoulder of the next woman, who seemed absorbed by something, but Cami had only been paying marginal attention. “What do you say?” she asked the woman, with the brightest of smiles.

[Alice Taylor]

It was all going according to plan.

Alice wasn't one to insult Fiona's intelligence. She was not going to get her friend and co-worker smashed just to get her to sign off on the division budget. Alice wasn't going to do anything related to work, not until next morning, before they board the plane back to L.A. The blonde was a telepath, and she could tell that Fiona was still skeptical about this party. It was one thing to try and outsmart Fiona, but it was often much easier to simply let Fiona outsmart herself. That was the best advice Alice's fiancee, Claudia, could give her. There were two ways to make your opponent fold their hand in poker. Alice could bet big, and do everything she could to force Fiona to agree to her terms right here and now. This would never work, since Fiona was as calculating and cold as Le Chiffre from Casino Royale. The better strategy was to bet small, making this little party seem like a trap, and let Fiona settle on her own accord out of sheer paranoia of what was worse to come. But for now...

"I think she'd enjoy the white wine more. Cool, refreshing, and to the point, with no need for pretence. That's how I imagine Cameron Moynahan would be like."

And refreshing it was. Alice had been sipping on the same white wine she had sent to Miss Moynahan. Neither too dry nor too sweet, the balance was perfect, and well worth the money. She smiled to herself as she observed the dance floor, not noticing that people around the bar were starting to order white wine seemingly out of the blue.

Alice looked over to her friend in the red dress, holding her glass of expensive red wine and dancing timidly, yet awkwardly. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight. That was the first time she had ever seen Fiona dance in public.

"Hey, what are you doing???"

[Fiona Kingsleigh]

What exactly was Alice up to?

Fiona swirled her glass of red wine and took a gulp as Alice praised her wine.

"I think you're wrong about Miss Moynahan. I think she's refined and complex, mysterious yet alluring like this one I'm having. She seems like the type that you should spend more time with to truly appreciate."

Fiona was always prepared.  She had very exact figures for what she wanted, what was optimal, and what was necessary for her budget demands.  In all honesty, the pale woman could make any of these numbers work, just in case Alice went crying to the CEO and he personally came to tell her the terms.  At least with Alice there was still negotiations.  But that was something for tomorrow morning, before they left this city.  Fiona was in no mood for business talk of any sort tonight, even if she wondered what Alice had planned to do next.  Meanwhile...

Surveying the other party-goers, Fiona tried the best she could to pick up as many dance moves as she could.  She wasn't really a graceful person that could simply move to the beat like Alice.  A method of sorts was needed, and she wasn't about to improvise in front of her boss' sister.  How did Alice talk her into this anyway?  She hated the spotlight, and she hated these darn heels.  How do people dance in those?  In her moment of distraction, Fiona's awkward dance made her trip over her own feet.  She stumbled forward a few steps before feeling an invisible force pulling her up before she slammed into the ground.  So shocked was Fiona's reaction to Alice's telekinetic helping hand, she never noticed a few partying guest had simultaneously slipped on the dance floor and fell over in embarrassing and thankfully uninjured manners.

Fiona returned to her seat next to Alice.  She was about to tell her perhaps a dance battle was a bad idea, but before she could say another word, Cami's face slipped in between them.  Guess there was no turning back now...

"Alice Taylor.  It's a pleasure and an honour to meet you!  And yes, choose any partner you like.  We're pretty ill when the bass drops."  Alice greeted with a wink before getting up from her stool.  Fiona found herself speechless until Alice gave her a gentle smack to the shoulder.

"... oh, errr... I-I'm Fiona.  Nice to m-meet you."  Fiona stammered before standing up as well.  

[Cameron Moynahan]

If Cami had known just who the two women worked for, things might have been more awkward. Cameron had asked her brother not to interfere with her night at all. No guards, no watching, no nothing. He was a silent partner, and that was all. But Cami did not see any signs of her literal Big Brother anywhere; and besides, she was relaxed, in a good mood. That conversation was now at the back of her mind.

Interestingly, while Alice turned out to be spot-on regarding Cami’s preferred drink, Fiona was not exactly wrong. She had just pegged the wrong Moynahan.

Cami gave a bright laugh at Alice’s comment about their dancing. “Well, then, why not one-on-one for now? I think I can handle that.” Alice seemed high-spirited and adventurous, but her friend Fiona was a little more shy, or at least reserved. Or embarrassed, or something. No worries; Cami could fix that. “C’mon, Alice, you first. We’ll warm up the floor for Fiona.”

She extended a hand to each of the ladies, then led them out to the floor. Waving at the DJ, she called, “Hey, Cee-Prime! Liven this place up a bit. Put on ’MTBD.’”

The DJ saluted and queued up the song. As it began, Cami started with a little two step, then put some shoulders and hips into it, with a grin at Alice. The dance floor cleared back a little bit to give them some space, and, with a little laugh, Cami gestured to Alice, with a very “come at me sis” kind of challenge.