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Sunday night at the Factory is slow. The usual weekend crowd has to head to work in the morning, so they don't tend to make late nights a habit. Still, even though there are thirsts that are in need of quenching, the owner/bartender/bouncer is found as his usual post behind the bar, absentmindedly wiping down the bar top with a cloth in one hand as he reads the book being held in the other. The jukebox is on, but instead of playing to more poppy tunes, it is set to something a bit slower and more classical. Beethoven instead of Mowtown.
That door would open and shut before the sound of heels were heard but they came to a halt. Blinking she would look around to see Luke behind the counter. A tilt of her head as she smiled to herself before speaking up. "Beethoven, eh?" Gidget was more casual but it was obvious she was at the office today with the portfolio she had under har arm. Still wearing her work clothes of some green wide leg pants, a white blouse and heels she'd def seem a little overdressed for the place. Smiling she would wave a free hand as she made her way to the bar, setting down her handbag and portfolio. "What's going on?"
"Had the place to myself, so I figured why not through something a little old school on the box." says Luke as he lifts up a shoulder into a shrug. "Don't get me wrong, I like my Smokey, but sometimes you just need a good bassline, and some strings."
He flips the towel over his shoulder, and sets the book he was reading down onto the counter as he look over Gidget's way. "What can I do you for? Wine? Scotch? Cocktail?"
She'd laugh as she nodded then. "Fair enough. I love it. I had one some Motown and Beatles at the office today…." Snickering she would slip onto one of those barstools and then nodded a bit. "Oh don't stop on my account?" She'd laugh as she raised her hands up and then leaned on the bar. "I just figured I'd take the long way home and come by with some sketchings of your stuff. And…." Gidget would grin then as she opened up her purse and pulled out a plastic bag with some small cuts of fabric. "I brought swatches!"
Luke Cage chuckles, "Well it would be rude of me to keep reading while talking. What kind of host would I be if I did that?" He glances down at the fabric then back to Gidget, "Swatches huh? You get your hands on some of that material then, or is this just the normal stuff?"
A group of 4 guys comes wandering through the door, laughing and causing a bit of a scene. They start to head towards a table when one of them noticed Gidget and grins, poking at the friend next to him, "Look, look! I think someone is lost. You lost baby doll? You don't look like you're from around here."
"True. But I'm also invading your space." Grinning she'd wink before sliding it over to him. "It's for your suit. I haven't set up anything yet for that other stuff. Working on it though. It's a process…." Gidget definitely seemed to have a pep in her step more so now than before. Exhaling she'd open her lips to speak but then heard the voices. Sighing she would look at Luke but slowly spun around on her sit as she crossed her legs, looking back at them then. A tilt of her head as she smiled and nodded. "Man….you caught me. But one….I'm not baby or doll. Two….I'm far from lost. Three…." She'd run her fingers through that short hair then. "….it's the hair huh? The haircut gave me away…."
"OOoohhh, look what we have here boys." says the speaker, swagger in his step as he takes a few steps towards Gidget. "Filly thinks she has some kick….or maybe she is just begging to be taken for a ride. What do you say, think me and my boys can take you for a ride. I promise, we will put you away wet."
Luke's fist clench, his knuckles popping with the tension. He glares at the group, "You best be turning around and walking back out my door. Your stepping where you shouldn't be steppin', and I am not going to let you disrespect people like that in my place. Not now. Not ever."
She'd blink as she stared at them then as she just….sat there. "….are you….are you serious?" She'd frown then as she sat up straight then, leaning forward a bit. "Let me explain something to you….asshole." Her tone shifted from the carefree Gidget he knew, her voice more laced with a French accent. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Because your disrepectful ass has some nerve to speak to someone like that and think that they'll actually respond to that." It took a lot for her temper to flare but then again….Kurt saw it the other day when people were being rude. "So don't you think there's enough shit going on in the world than you worrying if I should be here….and if I want to go for…..a ride." Slowly she'd turn her back and looked at Luke as he spoke but just shrugged. "Besides…I like men….not boys. I'd listen to the owner if I were you….."
The punk laughs, ribbing his friends with his elbow in ribs. "Oh, I think I riled her up." He looks to Gidget and grins, "I do all sorts of things with this mouth. There is only one good reason a girl like you is down here in this part of town. You looking for a ride on the wild side, my boys and I can give it to you."
Luke storms around the bar, "Ok, that's it. Out. Now. Leave on your own two feet before I toss you out head first. Last chance."
The three guys behind the punk reach into their jackets, audible clicks are heard as hammers are pulled back and cocked. Luke doesn't seem impressed. "Don't."
She'd frown and spin around but Luke was already coming around the bar. Blinking she'd look around him but then heard those clicks and that's when she went quiet. She'd slowly slide from her seat as she spoke softly. "…Luke…I can leave…." Now she felt like a fool; this wasn't her hometown and she was letting her temper get the best of her. "…I didn't come down here to cause trouble…." Gidget started to gather up her things now as she scrambled behind him. "Just….tell them I'll get out of here…."
Luke Cage says, "Oh, I think it is to late for that, Filly." says the leader. "See, now you've gone and gotten my boys all riled up. Once they get up, the don't like to go back down without some help. Ya dig?"
The other 3 smirk, their hands still in their jackets.
Luke just steps forward, placing himself between the group of thugs and Gidget. "Just stay behind me, Gidge." Luke says, before addressing the guy standing in front of him. "I'm going to give you one last chance, asshole. Walk out the door while you can still walk. I won't ask again.""
Gidget was scared now as she huddled up behind Luke now, taking a deep breath as she held her bag and her portfolio tightly to her. "….I'm not a fucking horse…." Still that mouth but at least she murmured it more quietly this time. She'd look up at at the back of Luke now as she did as she was told. "….Luke….they have guns….don't do anything stupid." She'd frown as she peeked around his side to look at them but quickly hid back behind him.
The head of the crew gives Luke a once over, cockyness playing in his smirk as he eyes Luke hard. "Yeah, whatcha going to do about it? You ain't gonna do sh…"
Luke shoves him. It's not a hard shove from the looks of things, but the shove send the guy flying back into his three friends, and they all end up in a heap on the ground in a surprised collection of limbs.
She'd widen her eyes as she back up against the bar now as she watched. Gidget watched the guy fly back as she then looked to Luke….those brown eyes wide. Saying nothing, she'd look around and then saw the phone behind the bar. Cops! If she could just creep and call the cops. Slowly she would set her stuff on the bar and edge along the length of it trying to get to the side to get behind the bar.
Luke Cage moved forward, not giving the goons a moment to recover. "I said. Get. The. Fuck. Out." He reaches down and grabs a guy in each hand, holding them by the back of the shirt and lifts them like he is lifting a sack of feathers, tossing the guys though the door to the outside. One of the other guys starts to scramble backwards towards the door, fumbling in his jacket as he looks to Luke wide-eyed. "Stay back man, stay back!"
She'd keep creeping as she watched but just….blinked as he picked them up as if they were rag dolls. Stopping she'd watch but went back to creeping so as not to draw too much attention to herself. Needless to say she is shocked and doesn't really know what to do at the moment but to try and help him. Then she'd quickly make a break for it behind the bar as she went for that phone.
*BANG* A gun shot rings out, then another. Luke's torso flinches, but he keeps moving forward. Two more shots ring out, then two more. Each gunshot causes Luke's body to move with the force of the impact. By the time the forth shot rings out, Luke reaches out and snatches the gun from the guys hand and shoves him back through the doors to join the other two. He turns to the forth, who is scrambling back on his hands trying to make it to the safety of the outside.
Screaming, she'd put her hands on her ears but looked up at Luke. "LUKE!!" She'd scream as she ran from behind that bar and towards him ignoring that they were running away now. "Oh my god Luke!" She reached him as the fourt guy went running out, running to the front of him now as she prepared herself for the worse. "Are you hit?!"
Luke Cage stands there, facing the door as the gunmen flee. He turns his head to Gidget, ignoring her question and asking his own. "Are you hurt? Did you get hit?" His shirt has an obvious cluster of bullet holes in the abdomen, but no blood or other signs of trauma.
"No I'm fine!" She'd stare at his shirt then as she looked at the holes but just….blinked. Gidget pulled his shirt up as she look him over. "…what the fu-….?" Catching herself she would look up at him then seemed actually….concerned. Those brown eyes were watery but she kept the tears of hystericas at bay. "You…you got hit? But…." She felt lightheaded as she stumbled back some. "…..I don't even know….." Her adrenaline high was starting to come down now.
HIs skin is unmarred. There is not a single mark to even suggest that he was shot even once, let alone 6 times. As the shirt lifts, a little click of metal falls to the ground, a lump of flattened lead. "I told you I was unbreakable." Luke says, his eyes tracking back to the front door. Finally he looks back down to his shirt and sighs as he fingers one of the bullet holes, "And I told you I am rough on clothes."
Taking a deep breath she'd run her hands over his chest and stomach before she wold blink a few times. "…..yeah but….you…." Looking up at him she'd just stare. "….they shot you like….." Yup….that adrenline high was gone as she slumped down to the floor. Looking down, Gidget would stare at the floor as she seemed to be reeling. "…I've seen some shit but this…."
Luke Cage reaches down with a hand to help steady her and get her back on her feet. "Come on, lets get you some water." He goes to lift her, letting her move on her own volition is she tries, to move her onto one of the stools at the bar, "Or maybe some coffee. Do you like coffee?"
Standing up slowly she would follow him over to the bar where she sat down. Taking a deep breath, she would look at her shaking hands before looking up to him. "I'm sorry…." There was a sadness on her face then. "I didn't mean to bring you any trouble…." Nibbling her bottom lip she would sigh a bit. "I know why….they gave me a hard time…..just….didn't think I'd actually get shit for being down here."
Luke Cage shakes his head. "Don't worry about it." He moves behind the bar, grabbing a glass and filling it with some water and setting it down in front of Gidget. He pauses for a moment, then also sets up a cup of coffee, setting it next to the water. "Don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. Ain't no reason you shouldn't be able to be here without being harassed, and they were way out of line. They won't be back."
She'd look at the water and slowly picked up before she took a sip. Licking her lips she would sigh then looked over at him. "Still…I shouldn't have popped off…." Gidget would look at that cup of coffee then chuckled. "If I drink that I'll be up all night….and I was trying to take it easy on work for once. So I'll have to go back to the office to entertain myself."
Luke Cage grabs a glass from the rack and pours himself some water as well, taking a sip. "Stop. Do not blame yourself for another persons shit." He shakes his head, "You could have not said anything, sure, but what would that have solved? Nothing, because then they would have seen you as easy prey and I would have had to take out the trash anyway." He glances at the coffee, "Office and entertaining yourself does not sound…well…entertaining."
Gidget would down that water without stopping for a breath then sat that glass down. Looking at that coffee, she'd hesitate then took a sip from it. "I guess you're right…." LIcking her lips she would tilt her head a bit then nodded. "Well it's a Sunday night. What am I going to do on a Sunday night to burn off the caffeine." Putting her finger to her chin, she'd blink then looked at the baggie of swatches. "Oh! Yeah…." It was back to work for her as she opened up the bag and poured at the different samples. "These are all Milano wool…..pick a color and or a feel you like….."
Luke Cage raises an eyebrow at Gidget and can't help but smirk a little. He doesn't say anything, just watches her for a moment trying to tell if she is being serious. He shakes his head with a chuckle, "If you really don't have any ideas, I am sure I could help come up with a couple." He chuckles, looking down to the swatches and reaching for the bag. "I'm thinking dark blue, maybe grey. What do you think?"
Drinking that coffee she would hug the warm mug to her as she slowly started to calm herself. "….shit…." Gidget would take a deep breath then nodded as she looked up at him. "I'm all ears, dude. I told you I'm still trying to be not about work 24/7 anymore." Sighing she would then look at him, looking him over as she nodded. "I was thinking the dark grey to be honest. But I was mostly thinking….maybe you should get a new shirt….with no holes in it." That was still bugging her as she looked him over then back up at him. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Luke Cage looks down at his shirt and shrugs, "It's not like I have one behind the bar…though maybe I should start keeping some here." He looks back to Gidget, "Seriously, are you ok? I guess I am used to this but it must be a lot to take in. I assure you, I'm fine. I've been hit with worse." He sips at his water, "Well, if I have extra energy to burn, I go for a run or lift weights to burn it off. Something physical. I don't know, maybe do your go-go dancing?"
"Yeah….I will be okay. Just a little rattled." She'd smile before nodding and sipping some more of her coffee. "You said you lived upstairs….so go grab one. I can get out of your hair so you can…..do what you need to." A shrug then as she looked at those swatched an picked up the grey toned ones. "You can toss the rest of these…." Smiling she would then tilt her head as she put those pieces into her purse. "Nah….none of the places I go to are open on Sundays. I may actually got to my apartment and work out some. Or just blitzed and pass out."
Luke Cage shrugs a shoulder and pulls the ruined shirt from his body, tossing it into the bin, "No need to wait down here if you don't want to. You can just come up with me." He looks at the remaining swatches and points a finger at one. "How about that one. Dark grey, but not too dark. You can still see that there is color and it isn't black."
Blinking, she would watch him for a moment but cleared her throat as she looked away slightly…..actually blushing again. Clearing her throat she would start to gather up her purse and her portfolio. "Oh…okay. I mean I figured I'd just let you do what you need to but….I can." Shrugging she would make note of the color and nodded. "Done. I like the color too….I think it'll be a nice compliment plus….you can wear it anywhere!" Smiling brightly she would nod as she started to dig a pen out of her bag, only to open that portfolio to start making note. "After you! Don't mind me while I just write this down and stuff."