xp_logs | Doug and Julian

Backdated to May 11. Doug happens upon an inebriated Julian Keller at the Hellfire Club.

The scotch burned his nostrils as Julian held the shot glass beneath his nose for a moment before pulling it back and taking the whiskey like a man. Slapping the small glass down on the table, he held his breath for a moment to let the fumes clear, wincing only slightly when he finally started again. "Fuck yeah," he mumbled, leaning back into the leather chair with a sigh. Nico was still on his mind, and though the dancer, who had insisted on giving him a rather publicly located 'private' show, was a nice distraction, he wasn't yet drunk enough to forget the way she'd smashed his heart under her heel and was now ignoring him. The Hellfire Club was a temporary refuge, and he knew it. It was somewhere that Jean wouldn't be able to pull his leash back to the mansion to scold him for running off while she was away on a mission. He was among the super-wealthy and powerful, his people when you really got down to it. Part of him felt like he'd been neglecting this part of himself for too long, though his disownment for a year and some months had something to do with that. The dancer seemed to notice his distraction from her performance and began to give him a lap dance as a staff member brought him another shot.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" came an amused murmur from just outside Julian's field of vision. Doug Ramsey, dressed in a less formal version of the clothes he wore as White Knight, took a seat in another chair facing the young scion of the Keller family. Doug's appearance didn't seem to faze the girl who was grinding on Julian's lap, indeed, the added audience put a bit of an extra something into the movement of her hips, as if the extra pair of eyes on her turned her on (which it did, Doug knew her by reputation).

"I know some people who would consider what you're doing to that scotch a killing offense," he noted as he watched Julian toss back his refreshed glass.

Julian shook his head and winced, "I can handle anything they throw at me," he motioned for the girl to leave. When she didn't, he firmly grasped her wrists and met her eyes, "Leave." Seemingly in a huff, she grabbed what clothes she'd removed and headed for the main room. The staff came back with a mixed drink, blue over red liquor in a tall glass that Julian stirred together before taking a tentative sip. With the staff and company out of ear shot he turned his attention back to Doug, "What brings you out tonight, Doug?"

Ah, teenage bravado. Granted, Doug was only five years removed from being a teenager himself, but a lot had happened to him in those five years. He'd thought he could handle whatever the world threw at him once upon a time. He'd since learned that things weren't always that straightforward. Julian would learn that in time as well.

"What, besides the pleasure of your surly, I mean sterling, company?" Doug quipped. "Duty. A Knight should see, and be seen, after all." And he may have gotten notice from a staff member that Julian was about and seemingly in a Mood.

"Of course," Julian smirked, taking a sip as he sat up a bit straighter. "You enjoy being Emma's Knight, Ramsey? Seems to me, you could probably get the top office if you wanted it. You're certainly liked well enough by those who matter and feared well enough by those who don't."

"Me? White King?" Doug shook his head. "Maybe in another ten years or so. Right now I'd be too young to be believable. Respect and fear are only starting points. Influence counts for a lot - and I don't have near as much as Emma or Shaw." Or Belladonna, but Doug didn't like even saying Remy's ex-wife's name very much.

"You have more influence than you think," Julian said, taking another sip. After a brief moment, and a few more sips, the young mutant sighed and set the half-full glass down. "I was thinking of getting a limo and heading to some of our affiliated bars and clubs...think you might want to join me, your lordship?"

"You have fake ID?" Doug asked with a raised eyebrow. Not that he was looking for any particular answer, but to see what Julian's answer was, and how he delivered it.

"I shouldn't need one," Julian pulled a bi-folding wallet from inside his jacket- the fine leather busting with green. "Money is wonderful, not much you can't do if you have it."

Doug shook his head. "Lesson number one, young padawan. Not every problem can be solved by throwing money at it. Oh, some can, maybe even most, but part of influence is knowing which can, which can't, and how to go about it." His eyes narrowed calculatingly. "How much do you have on you?"

Julian raised a brow in response, "Are you offering to teach me the difference if I pay you?"

"Oh, the lesson has already started. Now we're negotiating." Doug grinned wolfishly. "The money's not actually for me." Well, not entirely.

"Alright, I'll bite. I took out three-thousand in cash before coming here- my reserves are tied to the family accounts and are pretty well, damned unlimited." Julian put his wallet away.

"All right. Give me half," Doug said in a no-nonsense tone, and held out a hand while he waited for the younger man to fish his wallet back out. Once he had the cash, he stood up. "I'll be back in...about twenty minutes." He caught the eye of a rather stacked redhead member of the staff, who sashayed over to keep Julian's attention engaged as he disappeared into a side hallway.

The redhead was a welcome distraction, but Julian wasn't entirely certain what had just happened to half his cash on hand. He waited while she danced for him, but as time grew long he began to suspect Doug had just robbed him...though he supposed it couldn't be robbery if you willingly handed them the money.

Doug did return, only a few minutes after his stated window. "Lesson two - never try to negotiate after several glasses of scotch," he said with a cocky grin, flipping a small piece of plastic unerringly into the space between the redhead and Julian. "Lesson three - a large portion of everything is all in who you know." It was a New York drivers' license, with a not-entirely-flattering picture of Julian that had been taken from the Club's internal security feed.

Julian slapped the redhead on her ass and motioned for her to take a walk as Doug sat back down. He picked up the card and examined it carefully before looking up at Doug with an incredulous expression, "Seriously?"

Doug looked extremely pleased with himself. "Seriously. It's a rite of passage - you should have seen the name that Remy put on my first one."

"Do I dare ask what it was...and how it could be worse than Theodore James Cobbelbottom the fifth?" Julian held up the ID, a skeptical look on his face.

"It was German. And involved a hideous fake moustache. Any other details have been permanently blotted from my memory." Doug smirked, making it somewhat difficult to tell how serious that last part was. "Let's go get you blitzed."