Bane

December 2, 1993

"-ou what?"

Gina cringed, pulling the phone away from her ear a moment, the long string of Cameron's cursing broken only by the poor connection. "I took the fight to Grifford."

"You're fucking insane."

"Rosary, Cameron." Gina smirked. "Look, he wasn't going to let me in. He was never going to let me in. I'll play lackey to Bart Walker until Hutch, and David get back from Salem. Then, it's just you and me, Cam."

"Hutch? I -" the line went dark a moment. Gina felt a small pang of disappointment, but his voice came back into the receiver. "-et her hear you call her that."

"I'd give Karen Hutchinson a run for her money... a lot more than that, if I weren't yours."

Gina could sense his frustration, even over the line. Cameron disliked when she talked lurid over members of The Order. Probably over anyone, anymore.

"Gina..."

There it was. "I'm playing. I'm playing. Lighten up, Cameron Dean. You Order types need a better sense of humor."

"-ell that to Gri-" Cameron's voice was replaced by dial tone.

Gina hung up the phone unceremoniously.

She was on her feet before the knocking started, opening the door with a pistol already drawn, hidden behind her back.

"You can put your weapon away, Gina." Bart stood at the threshold of the door. "If I were here to assassinate you, you'd already be dead."

"So I hear." Gina opened the door wide, took a step back, and bolstered her pistol, her hands both resting on the grips of her twin desert eagles. "How can I help you, goodman?"

Bart hid a smile under a weary expression. "You can start by dispensing with formalities. You're here because you're just about the dumbest smart woman that's ever been."

"Maybe even a little lucky." Gina half shrugged.

"I'm here, because you're lucky. The judge apprised me of your relationship with a certain masked monster."

"I don't have a relationship with the judge."

"You know who I mean. Be careful, Gina. Be careful who you speak to, and how you speak. You're spunky, and plucky, and funny. That's fine. Not all of us share your sense of humor."

"Come on in, Walker."

Bart stared at the threshold a while longer, and the two stood in silence. "It would be inappropriate. You're an engaged woman."

"I'm offering you a beer, Walker. Not a good time, and unkept promises of calling you."

Bart Walker narrowed his eyes. "That mouth is going to get you into trouble."

Gina laughed. "I'm not even going to touch that one, old man. Get in here, and out of the rain. Beer's in the 'fridge, and the den's got a fire burning in the fireplace."

"Drawing room. Hearth."

"Beer. Fridge. Den. Fireplace. Stop stalling."

✟ ☧ ✟

Gina sipped her beer from the bottle, Bart from a crystal stein. "...see? That's the problem with you stuffy Order types. Can't drink from a bottle, you have to drink from a goblet."

"Stein." Bart stared at Gina, working hard to dislike the girl. She reminded him a lot of Karen, but her lack of propriety, and upbringing made it difficult for him to want to try and relate.