Saturnalia GP!

[goodfellow]

It was a good night at Saturnalia.

There was some b-list American rapper-slash-DJ who had shown up earlier in the day, and Robin was happy to throw someone on stage. It had gone over well right away, so he'd let him stay on. And now it was well into the evening and things were, as Robin understood the current vernacular to be, turnt.

In fact, at some point he'd thrown open all the windows so that the music blasted onto the street, and instructed the bouncers to let in whoever wanted in. He'd also instructed the bartenders to serve all the beer half price. The resulting crowd and frenzy was really something else.

Comments

[quartermaster_q]

"How selfless," Q quipped flatly, resetting the alarm and restoring all the cameras they wouldn't be passing by.

"This isn't a stealth op though, not really. More a curiosity born from a need. I do genuinely need that footage, but truthfully, I could have just asked for it. Rob has been a good friend. Helped save my life once even. ...I just wanted to test out his toys. This is a lovely security system."

[harrowgate]

Between his unusual little device from the cafe, and the way he was behaving now, Quentin -- Felix was mostly certain that the bespectacled man's name was Quentin -- rather made himself out to be some sort of agent of espionage. Delicious. "Is it? And yet it seems to cause you no difficulty whatsoever. If you can do that just with your mobile, then what good are security measures to begin with, I don't wonder."

Felix did not sound terribly concerned, frankly. When you could short-circuit a mortal person's central nervous system without even raising a hand, you tended not to see people as much of a threat. He was curious, though.

[quartermaster_q]

"Most people wouldn't have such an easy time of it, but no security is flawless. Not even mine," Q admitted with a small frown, aware of his surroundings and moving carefully into the room he knew held the heart of the security system. "Anything can be cracked or broken if someone wants to break it badly enough."

[harrowgate]

"Do you want it badly?" Felix did not even need to try to make innuendo out of the words; in his voice, they were rife with it. Still, he kept an excessively respectful distance. "You hardly seem to be breaking a sweat. What are we going to see on this footage, do you think?"

[quartermaster_q]

Glancing over, Q quirked a brow before sitting himself in front of the monitors and getting to work.

"Generally things have to get a touch more physical before I start to perspire," he assured Felix, his tone as calm as ever. When you spent most of your time with James Bond, it took more than a bit of innuendo to ruffle you.

"As for what I'm hoping to see, it's less what, more who," he murmured, wetting his lips with a quick flick of his tongue as he flicked through the footage. "I'm, as some might say, 'digging for some dirt' on one of my bosses."

[harrowgate]

Felix quirked a brow at Quentin, but didn't suggest anything more physical. He had the distinct impression that Quentin would not appreciate even Felix's best flirtatious effort. That did not, however, stop him from strolling over to lean over the other man's shoulder and peer into the monitors.

"That sounds utterly illegal," Felix purred. "What's he done?"

[quartermaster_q]

"Other than make my life and work unnecessarily difficult? I'm not certain yet. That's what I aim to uncover. CCTV had him headed this way, but then he simply vanished. I've checked other nearby establishments already, so it seems likely this is where he came- I want to know why, and who he might have been coming to see."

Flicking from camera to camera as he combed through last night's footage, he continued to monitor his phone as well, even as he chatted away easily to Felix.

"Why were you sneaking in the back then? I've not interrupted some sort of foreplay, have I? If you came seeking alone time with Rob, I assure you, Felix, I can be as quiet as a church mouse," he offered.

[harrowgate]

If there were something truly illicit, Felix didn't want to miss it, but he also wasn't terribly interested in watching hours of empty halls on grainy video tape. He tilted his chin down just enough that his words were close to the other man's ear. "If you want to watch, Quentin darling, I promise you I won't mind."

Then he straightened up, and glanced about, re-orienting himself as he tried to remember where Robin kept the good alcohol. His tone returned to carelessly conversational. "The reason I came in the back is because the front of the club looked like pedestrian hell. Robin enjoys that kind of sweaty excess but I do not. I thought I'd text him that there was a gift waiting for him in his office, but then I found you, darling. Do you want a drink?"

[quartermaster_q]

Q was very pleased with himself when he managed not to shiver as Felix spoke directly in his ear, though a little huff of air did escape him before he spoke again.

"Who's to say I've not already seen?" he asked blandly, glancing back at Felix and assessing the other man for a moment. "A drink would be nice, yes, thank you."

Turning back to his work, he found the time stamp he'd been looking for and began combing through frames.

"Red over white, and gin over whiskey," he added, not shy about making his preferences known.

[harrowgate]

"Gin?" Felix repeated dubiously, giving Quentin an assessing look. He made no further comment, but sauntered off to discover where Robin kept his private supply.

A few minutes later he returned, and set a strong, clear gin and tonic on the console next to Quentin's hands. "He doesn't appear to keep extra limes back here, I'm afraid." Felix himself dangled in one hand a generous glass of bourbon with a bit of ice melting slowly in it. Sipping it, he slid off his jacket and draped it over a chair, then poured himself into it and leaned back to prop his feet up on a nearby surface.

"So, what have we found?"

[quartermaster_q]

"He was here, and he was meeting with someone, but I can't see who. He's clever- Well, more so than I'd assumed anyway. He's careful to stay off camera when he can."

Scowling, Q leaned back in his chair, eying the drink Felix had brought him and humming thoughtfully. The little bubbles danced in his glass, and he seemed to get lost in them for a beat, before snapping out of it and turning to look at Felix.

"This isn't exactly an ideal meeting place, is it? I mean, not if you're not a regular or a VIP. Someone with access to more private and quiet areas... You know, like, oh- Say, someone like yourself."

[harrowgate]

"I'm fairly certain I didn't have an illicit assignation here with your employer," said Felix dryly, whilst idly undoing the top two buttons of his his very colorfully-patterned linen shirt. He wanted to be ready when Robin arrived.

"The club is loud. People are intoxicated. People are encouraged to indulge themselves, which results in a certain level of drunken narcissism. Make your clandestine business meeting look like the rest of the revelry, and it might not be a terrible location."

He looked up, head tilted, at Quentin. "Or did you just want a tour of the private areas? I can't guarantee that security knows me on sight."

[quartermaster_q]

"A tour... Or just any secrets you might know," Q nodded, picking up his drink and sipping it. "I wasn't suggesting you were involved. Though if you were, that would certainly be a twist."

He was all seriousness as he spoke, but the chair he was in was the spinning sort, and there was something playful and youthful in the way he rocked side to side in it, slowly rotating left, then right.

"I bet there are all sorts of secrets here."

[harrowgate]

It was true that Quentin looked even younger than Felix himself, especially toying with the desk chair like he did. Not too young to be wearing a ring on his wedding ring finger, though, Felix saw now that the other man's hands were finally stilled around his glass. It shifted, subtly, his approach.

"Most of the secrets I know wouldn't help you find anyone in the back rooms," he answered, tasting his bourbon. Perfection. Felix sighed contentedly, then looked Quentin directly in the eyes. "What's the owner's full name?"

[quartermaster_q]

"You're really quizzing me? That's more loyalty than I was expecting," Q replied, smiling faintly.

"Robin Goodfellow, and yes, I know what he is as well, just as he knows what I am. He's a good friend- As I said, he helped saved my life, and is a good friend of my husband's also," he added, not having missed that glance at his ring.

[goodfellow]

As if on cue (not that they hadn't been discussing him frequently already), Robin opened the door and stumbled in. He was shirtless and smelled strongly of champagne.

"Aha!" he accused, pointing at them. "Intruders!"

[harrowgate]

Felix brightened immeasurably when Robin managed to enter, though he did not move from his comfortable lounging position with his feet kicked up in expensive shoes. "There you are. I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me."

[quartermaster_q]

"If you two would like to re-connect, don't let me stop you," Q replied, still spinning a bit in the chair. "Also, we may be intruders, but I just think that means your security needs another update," he added cheerfully.

[goodfellow]

"Oh no, please don't let me stop you from snooping and raiding my liquor cabinet," Robin said dryly. He perched on the arm of Felix's chair, took the glass of bourbon from him, took a drink, and then handed back to him.

"You could have just asked," he added.

[harrowgate]

Felix curled an arm around Robin's waist and took his drink back with the other hand. "If you expect me to walk the gauntlet of twerking and self-aggrandizement going on out there, you're mad," he commented, lifting the drink to his lips. Then, he added, "Besides, you looked like you were having fun. And then I became interested in dear Quentin's little project."

[quartermaster_q]

"I didn't want to interrupt your evening for something so trivial," Q added, spinning back around to the monitors and returning them to their usual state.

"But since you're here now... Perhaps you could take Felix and I on a little tour? Introduce us to some of your more elite regulars, show us any private rooms that, perhaps, aren't on your security feeds?" Q asked, daring to look hopeful.

[goodfellow]

Robin looked over at Q.

Then he sighed heavily. "From anyone else, I might think you were angling for an orgy. This is far less enticing."

[harrowgate]

Felix's brows rose at that. For the love of cats, he'd be in enough trouble just sneaking off for a tryst with Robin, let alone an entire orgy. He swallowed his commentary along with his bourbon. "Is Quentin some sort of corporate espionage agent?" he asked Robin idly. "I hear they're hiring them younger and younger, to keep up with the hackers."

Obviously Felix did not know a single blessed thing about 'the hackers.'

[quartermaster_q]

"The hackers?" Q echoed, wrinkling his nose a little. "Corporate espionage is for plebs and those void of a conscience and ambition. As for 'the hackers', they'd be blessed to earn a moment of my time or attention."

He paused a beat, finishing his drink and gingerly placing the empty glass aside.

"As for orgies, you'd have to invite my husband along before I'd be inclined- But I don't think he'd have to work very hard at getting an invite. ...This is serious though, Robin. I need some help. There's something very bad in the works for England. Something I'd like to nip in the bud- And one of the key players may have been meeting someone here, in your club."

He really didn't want to say all of this in front of Felix, but desperate times and all that.

[goodfellow]

Robin looked between them and then waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, Q is a government spy, Felix is a wizard, and I am older than your entire species."

He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Q. "And what do I get out of helping you aside from the satisfaction of aiding the country I currently live in? I suppose it's had its moments."