Every once and awhile, a party was needed. That was seemingly the mentality of “Melissa” Kobayashi. Admittedly it was probably the strangest identity she had ever crafted for herself in all the centuries that she had existed, but it was certainly the most effective for the current time. People loved and hated celebrities, especially of the socialite variety. They were also easily ignored, something that Niko was absolutely revelling in. It honestly felt like the safest identity to hide her nightly escapades in.

Though she could certainly do without the copious amounts of selfies she needed to take.

But yes. Parties. Back to parties. Being in the public eye often Niko had to make decisions that were both in line with her current image and that would also keep the company in the good graces of the people. One of the best ways to do that was with fundraisers and other such events that would show just how much her company, Red Pearl Publishing, cared about others.

For tonight, her focus was not going to be on the police force, but rather a party for all the medical professionals that have been doing a diligent job of trying to help support, research, and all other medical personnel who continue to do their amazing jobs through the deaging epidemic that has been occurring as of late. It may seem like a frivolous thing considering so many people’s lives are being ruined, but Red Pearl Publishing was planning to reveal quite the sizable donation to the medical field during the festivities.

It was a perfect plan.

In the Starlight Towers, the party planners had converted the entire upper floor ballrooms into rooms of elegance. Tables were littered about, with gilded chairs and white linens. Upon each were swag bags aplenty, many of which were printed with a variety of thank you notes from deaged victims thanking these professionals for their hard work. Inside were all sorts of expensive gifts, the kind of which are usually only seen in Hollywood parties. Fine crystal glasses sat next to finest porcelain plates and sterling silverware.

It was a party of excess, but it was one thrown for the noblest of causes.

Music poured in from speakers hidden by hanging drapes of gauzy rose gold curtains as people talked and laughed. The good thing about these medical types was that at least some of them knew how to handle their liquor (though, admittedly, not all). The party had just started and most of the attendees were enjoying the free appetizers and drinks before the dinner actually started. At this moment, the organizer, Melissa Kobayashi was making her rounds.

Dressed in the brightest shades of crimson, she wore a formal, fitted dress that accented her curves. A champagne flute in hand, she smiled as she moved through the one of the larger rooms greeting those important guests but also making sure to offer a smile and a handshake to those regular workers who were partaking in the comforts of this party.

But why? What was Niko doing this? There were other ways to throw a party, even make donations without being seen. Well, truth be told, she felt a little guilty.

"We don't judge guilt, that's for the courts. We help all. Who are you to do that? To judge?"

The tone, the disappointment, the frustration, she could still hear it in her head. That EMT was a good man and one with a valid question. She doubted she would see him again but she hoped that this party would, in some small way, return his faith to the world. The last thing she needed was to spoil an innocent heart in such a way.

Niko stepped away from one of the chief surgeons in attendance, smiling and offering another wave to a trio that passed by in conversation. She had only just turned in time before she noticed she was far too close to someone, and was a split second too late to keep from bumping into their back, knocking some champagne onto their back.

”Oh my god,” she said in her soft voice. ”I’m so, so sorry. I’m such a klutz.’

Donnie was still out of action. The shoulder wound had been a through and through gsw, but between the wound itself and physical therapy, AJ's partner was a man without full mobility. He couldn't drive the wagon. He was on desk and dispatch duty only, the ultimate insult. And that put AJ in a very awkward space. He'd run as a back up, filling in when duos fell apart, but... the whole point was that they worked as a team. Filling in was at best a short-term solution.

So his hours were down in a job that already didn't pay great. When his scheduling supervisor floated the idea of a party by him, a party that he'd get paid to attend, AJ jumped at the chance.

As it turned out, they weren't covering the tux rental. He would still break even, but only because he insisted that being a token brown man forced on his best behavior to hobnob with C and D-list celebrities in the medical field deserved hazard pay.

He was vain, AJ knew this, but he didn't really see it in action until he was trying to chat up the residency admissions counselor for the best funded hospital around. He was... frumpy. AJ had figured that no one could make a tux look frumpy, but with a bulging middle and a flop of hair combed over the top? Yeah. Even a tuxedo could look frumpy. It was difficult to focus on what could be a potentially life-altering conversation. He just kept imagining all the health complications indicated by his sallow skin and liver spots.

"...difficult to find young people who are willing to stick it out. I know that the attending doctors can be a mite rough, but-"

"It's a high pressure situation, I'm sure." He smiled mangnanimously and sipped a tonic water.,He was trying to focus on the words, not the bad hair. "Much like emergency services, I'll wager you're dealing with underfunding and overcrowd-!"

Someone bumped him from behind and AJ felt a spill of cold, even through his dashing burgundy-on-black floral jaquard tuxedo jacket. He yelped a bit and very nearly spilled it forward onto his conversational partner. He excused himself from buttering up the desk jockey and turned toward the spiller, a tall woman-- taller than him. She was young for the crowd gathered here, some of the fossils made even AJ look young. But most eye-catching of all was the red.

Red dress, young beautiful woman in a room full of doctors? AJ smelled a gold digger, but smiled reassuringly at her anyway. He had no gold to dig, no matter how good he cleaned up in a rental.

Augh! It was rented!

"Are you alright, Miss?" She looked fit and healthy enough on her heels. Hopefully no one had been ungentlemanly toward her. AJ peeled off his jacket to inspect the damage, leaving only a small damp spot where his white shirt stuck to his skin on his back.

She wasn’t normally this clumsy. Niko had an excellent awareness of her surroundings but she also didn’t care to be surrounded by so many people. They were all here for a good cause but some of them seemed a little more inebriated than others -- and the evening was just starting! Still, she wasn’t going to judge them for having such a vice. So long as they obeyed certain rules, she was almost fine with it. Still, they would warrant a close eye whenever they exited the party.

But back to the issue at hand. Even one who has many skills as possessed could get careless. She has had a few close calls in combat over the years, but none of those were as embarrassing as accidentally bumping into someone in a party. At least it helped keep up her mortal visage as Melissa.

Cursing under her breath she pulled out a napkin to dab at the offensive spot, only looking at the face of her victim when they turned around and began to pull off their coat.

Shit.

This was admittedly not something that she was expecting. The shorter man before her instantly became familiar. The beard, the hair, the eyes, it wasn’t hard to forget a face like that, especially when it was pleading for understanding for your actions. It was the EMT. The one that she had pursued and ruined his ambulance in the hunt for one of her victims that he was trying to save. In the end her mission was a success, but not without feeling a pang of guilt.

She straightened up a little, feeling a little funny in this close presence. She didn’t know what it was, like a strange tingling that put her on edge. Nervousness? But...why? Yeah he was cute but in her centuries of life no one made her feel like that. It was ridiculous. She shook it off when he spoke, inquiring if she were alright.

”Excuse me? OH! Yes,” she said, tilting her gaze down a bit. She didn’t remember him looking frumpy in his EMT clothing. Again, she shook the thought away as she caught his eye. ”Sorry, I just seemed to have misplaced my footing.” Her earthen eyes glanced to his coat in hand. ”I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I hope I didn’t ruin your jacket.”

Did he hear a naughty word? She did try to dab the damp spot, and must've been ashamed because she looked here and there and everywhere, except for him. He only seemed to receive a half assessment. Whatever she was looking for, it seemed he was lacking. She didn't even get all the way down to the ground before coming back up to his face.

She wasn't moving in a way like a woman who was on the run... or on the hunt. He downgraded her assessment from 'gold digger' to 'ditz'. At least she was an apologetic and polite ditz.

"No, that conversation wasn't very fruitful anyway. You rescued me, in a way." He shrugged the fault off. Really, who liked sucking up to randos anyway? "The guy's a bureaucrat and doesn't really know what it's like for the guys and gals on the ground. He's not a do-er, so we didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. I'll probably just hug the hors d'oeuvres trays along the perimeter until it's time for whoever to present the checks. Hope to not get mistaken for waitstaff." He offered her an easy smile, not perturbed in the least to have to reach past her in order to grab a stack of napkins. It was a rental. If he could get it dried, maybe he could still break even for the night.

"Name's AJ, and you are...?" His hands were full of jacet and napkin, otherwise he would have extending a hand to shake.

Though his opinion of her didn’t matter all that much, a small part of her was embarrassed by what she had just done. Hopefully he didn’t think she was some ditz. Granted it helped to separate ‘Melissa’ from the ‘Bloody Samurai’, but there was still something basic about being viewed in such a way by someone attractive. It was like a remnant of a youth that she had long ago mostly forgotten.

He was generous at least, stating that she had not ruined his conversation. Instead it seems that she rescued him from a tedious time. She peered over his shoulder at the gentleman he had just been talking to; the man had already disengaged from their talk and seemed to be chasing after one of the attractively dressed nurses to chat them up.

She scoffed as she turned back to her spillage victim. ”I get the sense that the feeling is mutual between you two,” she offered with a smirk.

Niko watched his expression, smirking as he stated his plan for the rest of the evening: free food until the big event. Certainly the response of a wallflower. Which was odd considering he was far more vocal when he was fighting for someone’s life. It seemed that there were some differences between work and socializing.

Then he smiled. He introduced himself and Niko finally had a name to go with the face. Again, it was odd that she almost felt guilty for putting him through what she did the other night, but it was a passing feeling, at most. Instead, she just returned his smile and reached out to take his hand.

”Melissa,” she said with a respectful nod. ”It’s nice to meet you, A.J.”

Awkwardly she held her hand out before looking to see that both his hands were already filled with a combination of napkins and jacket. A genuine smirk on her lips she placed her hand on top of his jacket filled one, bopping it up and down. When he hand recoiled, she flexed her fingers, feeling that some of the moisture from the spill job had now transferred to her hand.

She flicked her hand off to the side before she smirked apologetically to him. ”Sorry…” she said as she reached to his other, napkin filled hand. She gave it a slight squeeze to dry off fingers. ”Well, if you do get mistaken for waitstaff, just tell them your a famous neurosurgeon. Either they’ll be too intimidated to keep conversing or too apologetic to talk to you again.” Her head tilted. ”Um, you know, why don’t you follow me? I’m sure the bartender has some club soda or something to keep that from staining.”

Yup. He shook his head at the desk jockey. "His job is important. The way he comports himself is… less so." Was that judgey? Yeah. AJ was a judgey bitch.

Melissa, a ditz name. But there was something funny about her. Grabbing his jacket to shake his hands anyway? It turned semi-awkward into semi-amused. She wiped her hand on his other hand which might have felt a bit dismissive if this whole thing weren't so absurd.

"Yeah that was a whole drink, I think?" Between the two of them, her hand was dried. Poor AJ was not fixed so simply.

She suggested he lie to avoid embarrassment and he shook his head again, still amused that their perspectives were so vastly different.

"If I lie to save face, that shifts the embarrassment from me to them, but only for today. Only if I get away with it. In a room full of people I have to work with by some degree? It's just not worth the risk." Unless he was willing to change professions…

If he was feeling petty, he might show up in one of their offices in uniform… of course that was all dependant on them recognizing him. Who really looked at the wait staff that closely?

Melissa beckoned him over toward the bar. He still had a check to accept. Much as he didn't want to, he had to get himself put back together before then. AJ made an effort to be better than the hypothetical racists he wouldn't lie to: he gave eye contact and noticed the shiny silver name tag on the bartenders spiffy vest.

"Hey Marco, I'm guessing you get this a lot, but does the club soda thing actually work? Is it gonna help me clean up?" AJ spread his jacket out on the bar and turned to show off his still-wet back spot. By the way Marco sucked in air through his teeth…? He was guessing the prognosis was not good.

Niko was decidedly impressed with the man's candor. His feelings on the former conversation partner were clear and didn't mince words. It was to ther point that she actually wanted to laugh. All that earned him, however was a slightly wider smile. He was funny.

The same could be said about his response to her comment. Really she was only joking but, once again, he had a point. Be honest, make them feel doubly worse.

"Touche," she replied.

But it was onto things that could be controlled: his jacket. In an attempt to prevent straining she beckoned him to the bar. Surely someone there would have a truck or two to clean it up. Granted, if not, she could easily pay to have it cleaned or replaced. But it was better to not reveal that side of herself too soon.

Moving to the bar, Niko gave a nod to the bartender who suddenly looked a little nervous in her presence. However he wasn't given the opportunity to state why as A.J. had immediately addressed him by name and presented the problem. The look on his face was enough to show it to possibly be a lousy cause.

"Ugh, sorry, sir," he said. "Club soda works in some cases but I think there's a little too much to handle that. But...let me check something..."

Niko watched as Marco stepped away from them, taking A.J.'s jacket away. Niko haff no idea where he was going but admittedly she was curious. Bit with him gone, her attention slipped back to her comrade.

"Well here's to hoping Marco can save the day." She leaned against the bar, a smile in get eyes as she looked upon A.J. "In the meantime, would conversion with me be a sufficient distraction? Or do you not wish to converse with your attacker any further?"

AJ hadn't missed the man's reaction to Melissa. He either didn't like her or really wanted to impress her, if AJ had to guess. The red dress was stunning. So maybe that was why he was getting a little more than the usual amount of effort. Certainly AJ hadn't expected Marco to leave his post. He was checking something... by taking his jacket away. AJ stood for a moment with his hand outstretched like he'd considered stopping him, but it seemed there were no takebacksies.

Now who was gonna man the bar now that Marco was saving the day?

"Hope he comes back before the show. I'd hate to have to shake hands naked." AJ leaned over the bar to inspect the offerings.

> "In the meantime, would conversion with me be a sufficient distraction? Or do you not wish to converse with your attacker any further?"

The word 'attacker' was an interesting choice. AJ nabbed a bottle of what looked to be spiced rum, at least it smelled nicer than something just straight. He was also able to reach two shot glasses.

"I am sufficiently distracted. Can I get you a drink?" He waggled the bottle at her. AJ hadn't been planning to drink at all tonight, but he was low key stressing that he was about to botch this whole 'just get the check and leave' thing considering he'd just lost a major piece of his costume.

He poured with steady hands. "I can't help but notice that an attack sounds premeditated. You into pre-meditation these days, Melissa?"

”Oh, I’m sure it’s not some elaborate plan to steal your dinner jacket,” she said with a soft smile. ”Besides, if anything I’m sure one of the wait staff…” she gave him another look. ”...fits your general size. Maybe they’ll let you borrow the jacket -- just for the ceremony.”

Of course then the chances of him being confused as part of the wait staff would double. Definitely a kind of a rock-and-a-hard-place situation.

As A.J. busied himself with peering over the bartop, mulling over his choices, Niko turned back to the party and waved at a few of the other party goers that recognized her. Thankfully the majority of these people that weren’t medical officials didn’t recognize her. A.J. certainly didn’t and that was, to be quite honest, a relief in more ways than one.

By the time he straightened back up, Niko turned around to face him, leaning on the counter as he set up a pair of shot glasses and shook a bottle of spiced rum. Interesting choice. She smirked a bit as she set her empty champagne flute aside. She barely got a sip of the contents before accidentally spilling it on her new comrade. It would be a shame to not replace it.

”By all means, Mr. A.J.,” she confirmed.

One leg slipped over the over as she casually leaned against the counter. She did look fairly good in this dress, with curves that were fairly well accentuated as she leaned. She straightened up only when the shot was passed to her, along with a teasing question from her drinking partner. She scoffed softly, her fingers seizing the shot glass, turning it around and around on the counter top.

”Doesn’t some sound paranoid?” she replied with a teasing smile. ”What can I say? You caught me.” With a click of her tongue and shake of her head she continued. ”It was planned as part of a scavenger hunt put together by high ranking party planners. I already have a class ring, a gilded pen, and now a man’s suit jacket.” She shrugged her shoulders. ”I’m in the lead.”

At the quip about his jacket theft AJ gave sad pouty lips. But... what if it was jacket theft? Her assessment that he was the same size as the help was, frankly, insulting.

"With these guns?" He scoffed. Scoffed! And more importantly, while she waved hello and made eyes at the big fat purses, he poured. He tried not to rely on anything as a crutch, but tonight he might not make it without.

She was already scoffing back. See? They did speak the same language.

> ”What can I say? You caught me.”

Wait... what?

She explained and the gears in his head slipped a few times before the teeth caught.

"Oh. I'm being punked. Cool." He threw back the shot like an expert despite being anything but. It burned all the way up in his sinus cavity and he grimaced. Yeah. He was still pretty sure he was being punked.

Because if his jacket was some pawn in a rich guy's side quest game within an award ceremony, AJ was fairly sure he'd entered one of the circles of Christian hell. Maybe the cold one, since he was jacketless.

AJ rolled the rum bottle between his hands, unsure if he actually wanted another shot or a different alcohol or to jump out the window. The warmth that one shot ignited in his chest was more than enough to give him the chutzpah to fight, though. He had to be here. So he should make the most of it.

"If you're not taking me for the fool, tell me how to make you win before checks are passed out." That was the best way forward, wasn't it? Let her have her crazy rich person game. Let her take the crown. Let him earn his dignity back before the check and the pictures happened.

Niko was admittedly...surprised at how quickly AJ warmed to the idea that all this was some elaborate set up. Anyone else would have simply assumed she was joking, she would admit it, and they would have a passable laugh at the notion. Whether or not it was actually that funny of an idea was unknown to her, but it would count towards her commitment to awkward conversation.

But AJ? He seemed to be out to continuously surprise her. He took her words in stride, taking the shot, and grimaced a little. She almost felt bad for lying to him but he seemed...what...almost uncomfortable being here? Shame since he was probably the most lively conversation she was having tonight.

”Ugh...yeah…” she replied.

She should come clean. The bartender would probably be back with his jacket at any moment. The staff working tonight were trustable; she always made sure of such things before throwing events like this. It cut down on incidents that required investigation into herself or her company. So it was doubtful that AJ’s jacket was being stolen.

But before she could get out the words a look of conviction came across his face. He was going to help her to win this faux-game that she had just come up with. If he wasn’t being pranked (which he was) then he would help until the checks were passed out. She thought about it for several seconds before she eyed the crowd, then him, and smiled. Why not? She could use a diversion. At least until his jacket was relinquished.

”Okay,” she finally said. She leaned a little closer to him. ”Last thing I need is a handkerchief embroidered with a Z.” She shrugged. ”I checked the guest list, didn’t see anyone with a Z name, either first or last. Think you can handle that?”

To her credit, she looked a little embarrassed about her rich people problems. But not embarrassed enough to forget about it and call it all off. So in essence he was being blackmailed. Just another day in the life.

> "Okay." AJ poured himself another shot and took the problem seriously.

"Does a pocket square count, you think?" Who carried a handkerchief? Like, at all? the letter "Z" didn't concern him much. He was a fair hand at stitching if push came to shove. Though it'd be far, far more likely to find something slightly outside the box.

"Let me see what I can do." He cheered her with his shot and threw it back before adjusting his suspenders. Yes. The back of his shirt was still stuck to him, slick with the run-through of whatever been spilled on him. That might actually work to his advantage. He looked around the room and ticked off the names... no Z. Not even close. But he did find what he was looking for all the same.

There was a representative Naval medical officer. AJ thought about it, but honestly had no idea what the Navy logo looked like. Maybe a handkerchief was a part of the uniform. Maybe not. His next best option, by his estimation, was a decrepit man with one foot in the grave and the other foot firmly planted on top of a dragon's hoard of wealth. Under normal circumstances, AJ would have paid money to avoid him. Now... well, he was old. Old people held on to old things like handkerchiefs, right?

The paramedic went without hesitation or apology to strike up some conversation. There were hands shaken, a joke or two, and both of them glanced over toward Melissa-- the sufficient distraction. A handkerchief was produced and AJ returned with a muddled look of triumphant puzzlement.

Pat Nagle had a handkerchief embroidered with a fancy interlocked PN on it. When offered to Melissa, and turned on it's side...

"It's a Z with a hat on it."

Okay so Niko felt a little bad about going along with the goof but, hey, it would kill a little time. If anyone by the time they were done with this little game, he could get his jacket back and she could have found a momentary relief from the boredom of such a dull party. Besides, she doubted that he would actually do anything for such a silly game.

...huh. She was wrong.

A look of determination flared in AJ’s eyes as he downed another shot and sought clarification on exactly what she needed to find for the “game”. She nodded her head, confirming that it was probably fine and, with that, suddenly AJ was off to find the handkerchief she needed to win. That was so sweet but she also cringed a little. God, how much did she regret this.

He headed off and Niko watched, both surprised and a little...shocked. Did that really happen? She was grateful for the unnecessary assistance, it even brought a smile to her lips, but she was afraid that when he found out that all of this was fake that he wasn’t going to take it well. Oh well, why did it matter? She was only doing this to make up for the hell she put him and his partner through that night. Maybe it was better he was disillusioned sooner rather than later.

While AJ busied himself in conversation, Niko had turned when another investor had approached her for conversation. She politely engaged, smiled, nodded her head, promised to have her grandfather’s secretary call his secretary. By the time it was done, she turned back to find AJ returning -- one handkerchief richer.

She stared at the embroidery, with a slanted Z wearing a little hat, and a genuine, honest smirk pulled at her lips. It was probably one of the funniest and most creative ways of thinking she had ever seen at one of these parties and it was just too perfect. Looking between the handkerchief and AJ, nodded her head.

”That...is absolutely perfect,” with a light chuckle she took the handkerchief from him...just in time to see the bartender return with a very familiar jacket. ”Looks like it was just in time, too.”

The bartender offered Niko a smile as he carefully lifted the jacket and handed it over to both her and AJ. “Sorry that took so long, Miss.” he said. “I know one of the caterer’s and she had a laundry stick on her. We had to make a couple passes but he got it all out, sir.” He finally addressed AJ and handed his jacket over.

”Ah, glad to hear it,” she replied, and then turned to AJ. ”Looks like you get to keep your shirt on after all, Mr. AJ.”

The man was too polite to outright ask why AJ had approached him to introduce himself, but his eyes were skeptical enough to light a rebellious fire in the EMT.
"You have a handkerchief, and I'm hoping you'll give it to me."
Clearly not what he'd been expecting, Mr. Nagle rocked back on his heels.
"And why should I be giving something like that to you?"
"You're not giving it to me. You'll be gifting it to the lovely Miss Melissa. Just over there?"
"Oh. We are acquainted." Sounded like rich people problems or history there. AJ bulldozed on all the same.
"I think she's playing a stupid game with me, and I'd like to up the ante."
He barked out a laugh. "My handkerchief will do that?"
"I'm willing to roll the dice and find out, otherwise I wouldn't be here."
"You have spunk. I'll give you that."
"But not your handkerchief?"
"Everything has its price... AJ, was it?"

According to Melissa, it was not just sufficient, but absolutely perfect. Good. He wasn't keen on making pointless deals with devils.

And his reward was immediate. He found it telling that the bartender addressed Melissa first. And after all the rapport AJ'd wasted on reading his nametag, too.

He eyed the spot, which was admittedly still a touch damp, but in far better shape than he'd ever expected to see his jacket again.

"Thanks, Marco." His arms slipped into the silky tailored interior and AJ did the middle button, off by a hole in his excitement to be put back together. "How's it look?"

Niko felt that she was digging a hole deeper than she wanted to, but the reality was that these things were boring. Yes, they were for amazing causes and she was more than happy to partake and let these good people know that. But, again, they could also be extremely mind numbing and repetitive. It seemed that AJ proved to be a slight balm to that. However, she did feel bad for deceiving him. She should probably end this.

But the handkerchief. It made things a little brighter. The creativity and the ingenuity. It genuinely made her smile. However, she had to shake these distractions off. Really it should end before she inevitably got him mixed up with the wrong crowd.

Thankfully his prize had been returned. She looked after the bartender who returned, cleaned jacket in hand. The laundry stick should be just the thing needed to take the stain out once the detergent formula had dried. Not perfect but at least it was far less embarrassing.

AJ took back his property, slipped it on and buttoned across the middle -- though, incorrectly. He asked for her opinion and Niko cracked a smile. Setting her drink down she approached, holding her hands out in a “May I gesture” before she reached over and undid the incorrect button. After rebuttoning it the proper way, she smooth down the lapels of his jacket (totally unintentional grope of his hard chest) and stepped back.

”You look good enough to accept a well-earned check,” she said with a confirming nod.