2019-08-30 - Shotgun

It's about two hours from last call, and it's been a little busy here in the Cabaret, thanks to it being Friday! Zoiya sits in the corner of the bar, in the shadows really, drinking something from a martini glass. Her eyes are on the crowd near the stage, sipping her drink quietly, not trying to draw anyone in. She's wearing a kimono robe, tied around the waist.

The club owner is at the head of the bar, looking out over the club with his filthy martini in hand. "Did well tonight. Real well. Now we gotta publicize that amateur night." His business acumen is clear as he sips from his glass.

It seems to have started some sort of trend, Cristobal showing up with his split knuckles the other night. Tonight, he's sporting not only that healing wound, but a strawberry patterned scrape on his cheek and some bruising around his neck, neither fresh. He comes in from the back room, having walked a pair of girls out to their vehicles. "Boss." He greets Antonio in a low rumble as he leans across the bar and snags his bottle of water, drinking heavily from it.

Zoiya lets her gaze drag over Cristobal, shaking her head back and forth. "Christ, what are you doing? Aggravating pit bulls?" She takes another drink and glances toward Antonio. "Publicize? Maybe we can get a bunch of girls holding signs, each with one word on it -- Come To Amateur Night --, and have them jiggling in bikini's." She looks pleased with that, taking another sip before she adds. "We can splash them down with a hose too. A nice cold one." She brushes her hair back behind her ear and glances toward Cris again. "You gonna be okay?"

"You fucked up those college kids earlier, right? They didn't have any money to spend anyway." Antonio seems satisfied, shooting a nod to Cristobal and drinking his martini.

With a bit of a smirk, Cristobal thumbs the side of his nose following Zoiya's question, scraping his non-existent thumbnail along the length of it. Yeah, he'll be just fine. "Something like that." That drink of water taken, he turns so he's facing the floor to keep an ever vigilant eye on things. "Not a bad idea, depending on how you spell 'come'." He says of her marketing idea before he glances aside at Antonio. "Nah. Didn't need to do more threaten and they pissed themselves. Why throw a punch when just flexing will do."

Zoiya delicately clears her throat, shrugging a slender shoulder. "I'm sure it will be just the thing we need. I could volunteer for that, I like bikini's and I'm a fan of cold water on a hot day." She props her chin on her palm, watching Cris and Antonio speak about.. college kids? "So you are so threatning that giving some kids a dirty look will make them piss themselves?" Her voice gets quieter and she sighs as she turns her head. "Yet you still have bruises.."

"Yeah I got you. Just a show of force and get them to stop being stupid. That's best." Antonio keeps a steady pace drinking his martini as he smirks, alternating his eyes between the bouncer and the dancer.

"The bruises are from someone who needed a little bit more...convincing." There is something about his own choice of words that makes Cristobal's grin go wide, an expression he usually keeps subdued when on the clock, but there it is for Zoiya. Back to Antonio, "Conservation of energy, not to mention not risking any heat if it's not necessary, especially when the police Captain likes to frequent your fine establishment."

"Apparently." Zoiya's eyebrows rise briefly when the grin is aimed at her, she hesitantly returns it, then drinks from her glass. "Javier is harmless, he's coming in here for naked girls, not to cause trouble, or at least that's the feeling I've gotten." She taps her fingers on the surface of the bar, glancing over at Antonio. "So you want me to gather some girls and bounce under some cold water with signs?" She kicks out a leg, swinging it back and forth idly. "This way I have something fun to do tomorrow morning. We can.. also mention it at the body shots tomorrow."

"Harmless." Cristobal gives a little huff of air that could be a laugh to that comment about Ruiz, as Antonio gets distracted by some bit of business and wanders off. He leans slightly towards Zoiya, "Do it. It's a good idea, and it's better to ask forgiveness than it is permission. Unless you're hurting business, he's not gonna care. And something tells me, if you're the one doing it? Business will never be better."

"You're sassy when you're off the clock." Zoiya murmurs to Cristobal, nodding her agreement on the plan. "I don't think he'll care, it won't cost him any money and I'm pretty sure it's going to make him some. Which.. seems to be the thing that makes him happy." She goes quiet, observing Cris for a few moments. "You don't think Javier is harmless?"

"Sassy, huh." Cris' mouth turns in a little 'huh' at that. "Sure, I'm man enough to own that." He straightens up, eagle eyes back to one of the girls giving a table dance, making sure it remains in the dancer's control. "Any man with a badge isn't harmless, Mae. But I'll protect you from that truth as long as I can. Whether I'm on the clock or not."

"Yes. Sassy." Zoiya winks at Cris when he says he's man enough to own it, leaning against the bar, he voice quieter. "I've known Javier for a while, I'm sure whatever truth you'd tell me about him wouldn't surprise me. Clock or not." She follows his gaze to the table, taking another sip of her drink before she adds. "Appreciate it though, an extra pair of eyes have never hurt."

Cristobal turns to look at Zoiya directly now, his gaze ticking over her face. There's a tick in his jaw, as if tempted to say something else but bites it back. "I protect all my girls." He just mutters, and then instructs, "Hold still." The directive comes as he reaches a calloused finger towards her cheek, and if allowed, pads off a chunky piece of glitter near her eye. "I swear, I'm already finding this shit in the oddest places. Like my toothbrush."

Zoiya turns a mild look on Cristobal when he gazes at her face, she doesn't goad or push him, but there is a tease in her smile. "We appreciate what you do for us, Cris." She responds, and when he reaches toward her face, she goes still to allow him to fuss. When he wipes away a cluster of glitter, she giggles. "Tell those other girls in the back to stop rubbing up against you, you'll be all right. Make up remover is great for that shit, I promise you. Just don't put it on your toothbrush."

Cristobal frowns at the offending piece of sparkle left on his finger, tries flicking it off and then opts for a cocktail napkin. "Now if you were me, would you tell any of you fine ass ladies to stop rubbing anything?" He snorts. "But you know how they say if you're a dealer, you don't get high on your own supply? Pretty sure the same was meant to apply in this case." His arms thread over his chest, folding into each other.

"If I were you, I'd see it as a job perk, but women are psycho. Eventually you're gonna rub yourself into a mess, literally." Zoiya gets an evil smile on her face, proud of her double entendre. "Probably. I strive for less drama at work if I can help it, and I don't want someone pulling my hair and tumbling me off a stage because I gave you a glitter rub." She taps her glass, nodding at the bartender. "Mostly because I don't pull hair, I'd end up breaking someone's face and then Antonio would give me one of those looks."

That garners a full laugh, the notion that she won't just go for the hair pull. "Atta girl." Cristobal rumbles, "I was gonna offer to train you up a bit during one of our gym dates, but maybe you'll be showing me a thing or two. Old dogs can still learn new tricks, right? I'm not too proud to get my ass kicked by a girl. I might even like it."

"I grew up in New York, spent a year in Chicago. People touch when they're not supposed to, and no doesn't back them off. It was learn to beat the shit out of someone, or .." Zoiya trails off and leaves that where it is, hazel eyes on Cristobal's face. "You can teach me whatever you want, and I will teach you a few things in return. It isn't foolproof, and Seattle taught me that, but in the right circumstance I can make most people regret trying something shitty." She gestures toward Cris when her drink is delivered. "You might have to try something shitty so I can give you the full experience." Sip.

Cristobal's jaws part, his tongue running along the edge of his teeth as if testing their sharpness before settling on the point of a canine. "I'll save it for the ring." He finally declares before pushing off his slight lean against the bar with a roll of his spine. "Come find me when you're ready to leave and I'll walk you out. Too many loose dicks hanging around in the parking lot lately."

"I'm walking home tonight, hitching if I can get a nibble. I'll be fine." Zoiya shoos Cris away with a waggle of her fingers. "Go take care of business, and if I find myself harassed, you'll hear me shouting. I was never all that quiet." She picks up her drink, sips and then sets it back down, picking up her phone to swipe at the texts there. "Do save it for the ring, it's not fun unless someone walks away bruised, right?"

There is that grin again, Cris all too pleased as he hooks a finger in his v-neck t-shirt and drags it down a bit to highlight the bruising again that looks like he got his neck wrung. "Tell me about it." He snorts, "And fuck if you think you're walking home. I drive the blue Fairlane parked in the alley, I take some of the other girls home, but I'll let you have shotgun."

"Ooooh shotgun." Zoiya picks up her drink, easing to her feet to make her way backstage. She looks like she might be hurting a little bit. "Yeah, I'll be out in the alley, hopefully none of those bitches are gonna have to sit in my lap so we'll fit." She finger guns Cris and grins. "See you in a little under an hour. You have any more bruises in that amount of time and we're getting you a PFA."

There is a slight tick of Cristobal's head to the side as she mentions a PFA, his stern expression returning. "Uh huh." Is all he says, and heads towards the front.