Outsiders

Getting drunk

The news was still distracting Kate as she came out from the back with a crate of bottles to restock the bar. Music and lights didn't diminish it either. How could the Crows resort to something so destructive twice in two nights? She kept asking herself. We need to find out who is funding this search, she realised. The Crows weren't so profitable that military-level explosives could be used like rubber bullets. Jacob had sunk nearly 80% of the Kane-family trust into the Crow enterprise, and they were only now just bringing in a profit. This had to be a privately-funded venture by someone with deep pockets or someone with the right connections.

Her internal monologue was suddenly interrupted by a force from her left engulfing her. Kate nearly counter-attacked then quickly realized Mary had arrived, and her form of greeting had, while innocent in nature, had grabbed Kate in a bear hug and threatened the lives of Jack Daniels and Bacardi in Kate's arms.

"I didn't know you were working tonight!" Mary exclaimed. "This is just perfect! You can drink with us!"

"Us?" Kate asked, recovering her balance and surveying Mary's immediate surroundings. Her eyes landed on Sophie's and Kate stared back confusedly. "Wh-Soph? What are you doing here?" she asked, setting the crate on the bar. A barback immediately took to task restocking the shelves for her.

"She was suspended," Mary had intended as a whisper but, to be heard over the music, it came out as a shout.

"Suspended?!" Kate gaped. "I don't understand. What could you possibly have been suspended for? You're the perfect Crow. You're second in command!"

Kate wasn't sure if her reaction was about her former girlfriend and current crush being suspended from her dream job or about more light being shed on tonight's less than savory actions by the Crows.

"It's a long story," Sophie began.

"And one that requires shots!" Mary interrupted. "Three please!" she requested from the bartender.

"No, none for me," Kate said, lifting her hands in defense. "I-uh, I have work to do."

"At 9pm on a Wednesday? Kate, you own a bar. This is basically your job," Mary concluded, shoving clear liquid into her and Sophie's hands. "To Sophie's suspension!"

Mary immediately shot back her glass. Kate and Sophie hesitated briefly before following suit with Kate taking the brief distraction to sneak a closer look at Sophie in her dress. A flush of warmth swept through her - she couldn't decide how much was the alcohol and how much was being in the presence of such utter perfection.

"Three more!" Mary shouted, slamming her glass on the bar.

"Wh-" "N-no" "Yea, no."

Mary ignored them as she ushered the bartender over to replenish their glasses. Meanwhile, Kate was looking for a way out of the conversation. While she enjoyed Mary's company and wished to linger a while longer with Sophie, she had the Crows on her mind, and if Sophie was suspended..

Mary handed both Sophie and Kate a glass. She wasn't necessarily interested in getting plastered on a Wednesday, but she also saw this as an opportunity to bond with Kate and Sophie. And she also knew the best way to do that was to lighten the mood with some natural blood thinner. She knew how to be insistent, and, after some persuading Kate, all parties were tossing back their second shot of the night.

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight," Mary said, a slight slur in her speech, "you told Jacob he was a 'washed-up fraud of a leader' in front of the entire Crow task force?"

Sophie was not as much of a lightweight as Mary, so she still had the ability to recall the day's earlier conversation where she had already relayed this entire story to Mary. She stared at her, "You guys are the best company," Sophie teased, but quieted when she saw Kate's look of frustration. "What's wrong?" She asked, pulling out her own phone to see three notifications from the Gotham Gazette. The first mirrored what Kate had seen an hour earlier, but the next two were even more jarring:

"Three victims found in the rubble of warehouse explosions from recent Crow activity. None of the three survived."

"Gotham City Gazette's own Veronica Vreeland has been kidnapped "