Red-X Charity Event - Garrison's Auction

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

"Ladies, our next item on the block is a visitor from the Great White North. But Garrison Kane isn't an ordinary Canadian. This six foot, hundred and seventy-five pound stack of muscle is none other than a real life member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That's right, ladies, we have a real live Mountie on the block." Garrison kept his grin fixed and tried to ignore the auctioneer's embarrassingly suggestive intro. At the word Mountie, several of the women hooted appreciatively, an almost predatory undertone. Adrienne was going to owe him for this. "Working with the FBI right now, Agent Kane comes with his own badge and handcuffs. With that in mind, do I have an opening bid?"

"Fifteen bucks!" Adrienne called out when the auctioneer opened the bidding, though she was quickly given the evil eye by him for the joke and the fact she'd yelled instead of raising her numbered stick like a proper lady. Her impropriety was quickly forgotten, however, as a chorus of young women started raising their bidding numbers. It didn't take long before there was a good-natured, albeit spirited back-and-forth among the ladies. Adrienne waited until they'd driven the figure up to a thousand dollars before she raised her number, and she only had to raise it twice more, and accompany her bid with some pointed glares, before they backed out. "Fifteen hundred dollars, going once... going twice..."

"Two thousand."

Unlike Adrienne's earlier verbal bid, this one was calm and firm, the woman's voice cutting through the buzz of the room. Her face was blocked by the sign she also had raised, but she was stunning in an emerald sequined gown slit up to just below her panty line. Her nails, visible as she gripped the sign, were emerald green also, and perfectly manicured. Then she lowered the sign and glanced over at Adrienne, green lips curving into a satisfied smile.

"Do forgive my breach of protocol," Abigail Brand said, turning her attention back to the auctioneer. "I was detained and I so wanted to be sure you had my bid."

Adrienne tried not to let her shock show as Garrison's former partner suddenly manifested in the room and captured the attention of the people following the auction. She'd heard of Brand, but she'd never seen the woman. Now she immediately wondered if Garrison had somehow orchestrated things to keep them apart so Adrienne wouldn't encounter Brand. She reached for her drink before remembering it was just water. Damnit. Instead what she swallowed was a comment about Brand being detained because her lead performance in Wicked had run long, figuring that making fun of someone's mutation was dirty pool. Obediently she said nothing, raising nose in the air unaffectedly, along with her bidding number to add another hundred dollars to the tally.

Brand's smile grew even more satisfied at Adrienne's response and she nodded at her before lifting her sign again to add to the tally. Another hundred dollars.

"You work with Garrison, right? Brand, was it?" Adrienne asked with a sweet smile, waiting until the auctioneer had nearly sold Garrison before lifting her number up again. Was this really the woman that Kane's entire department was certain had gotten Kane off on murder charges because they'd screwed?

On stage, Garrison was experiencing first hand what hell was like. How had Brand of all people found out about the auction? He'd agreed only because Adrienne had been keen on the idea of 'buying' him for the night as the most fun way to donate money. If Brand was getting her hand in, not only did he have a good idea what her list of demands would look like, but Adrienne would be furious. Unfortunately, the auctioneer was not only continuing the bidding, but people were moving out of the way so Adrienne and Brand were almost side by side when bidding.

"Yes, Abigail Brand, Director of Sword, at your service, Ms. Frost." There was no doubt in the green-haired woman's voice - she knew exactly who Adrienne was. "I see our Agent Kane has been gossiping about me. Nothing too terrible, I hope." She raised her sign again, increasing the bid by another hundred. "I would hate for you to have the wrong impression of me." The innuendo fairly dripped from her words.

Adrienne grinned at Brand's mention of 'our' Agent Kane, raising her eyebrow at the woman. Was this chick really pathetic enough that she was trying to get so cheap a rise out of Adrienne? Did she actually think Adrienne was insecure enough to be threatened by her? If anything, her presence actually bolstered Adrienne out of the self-conscious funk she'd been in earlier, because it meant a lot that despite her broken leg, and what she felt was the mental weakness that kept her from drinking tonight, Garrison had picked her over his flashy colleague. "Actually, I don't think it was Kane that mentioned you," she mused thoughtfully. "Maybe Fred Duncan? Or that admin assistant who's really into Sailor Moon?" She raised her bidding number once again.

Brand raised her eyebrows barely perceptibly. "I didn't realise you were so well acquainted with our Boy Scout's co-workers, Ms Frost. But then again, you've had your own dealings with Agent Duncan, haven't you?" Her green eyes glittered. "That... incident with your former husband, wasn't it?"

"The 'incident'," Adrienne nodded, putting it in air quotes to show she wasn't going to let Brand make her ashamed of something she- and Garrison- had long ago come to terms with, "among other dealings, yes. But the rest are top security clearance," she shrugged as if apologetically. "So tell me, Abigail Brand," she carried on, raising the bid once again with a casual flick of her wrist, "what's the SWORD director doing at our little soiree? Are you undercover? Or would you have to kill me if you told me?"

"All work and no play, my dear. I'm off-duty and thought I would attend this worthy fundraiser. I'm quite the fan of the work your school has done for the community." Brand raised her sign again plus indicated with two fingers that she wanted to double the added bid to $200. "You all do so much there, I'm sure the public would be astounded at just how much."

Never had he wished he was a better lip reader. He couldn't tell what Brand was saying to Adrienne, but it couldn't be anything good. Brand would love to cause a scene in public.

Adrienne smirked again. "And you have the ear of the public, of course," she simpered, matching Brand's new bid lazily. "Really, what would we do without you?" She didn't know much about this woman, but from what she did know, she figured Brand would lose her patience with this before Adrienne did. Sure, she might be screaming and tearing Brand's hair out if they were alone, but they were at a charity fundraiser, and Adrienne was firmly attached to her Public Image mask. And since Brand couldn't bait her into a tantrum, she didn't know why Brand was bothering to bid. Adrienne was a Frost, for crying out loud. If Brand thought she really stood any chance at offering money to win something Adrienne wanted, she was far more naive than Adrienne had expected. She could do this all night. Sure, if she did she might have to ask Emma to give her a loan to cover some drained business accounts tomorrow, but it's not like Emma wouldn't do it if Adrienne explained what had happened.

Brand blinked, surprised at Adrienne's response. Usually a threat, however veiled, against the school was enough to make Garrison bristle. Apparently his girlfriend was either a better poker player, or actually had no idea what went on there. Unlikely. "Well, one doesn't like to brag, of course," she continued, looking at her nails idly before raising her sign to bid again. "But you'd be surprised at who would love to learn more about your school and its programs. I'd be happy to educate them, of course..."

Unfortunately Brand, who obviously didn't know much about Adrienne, had miscalculated the brunette's feelings about the X-Men, and wasn't aware that Adrienne had, as she'd discussed in the past with her sister, never really gotten comfortable with the fact that the group operated out of the school like a private army. So Brand's unsubtle threats didn't cause the rise she'd obviously hoped they would, aside from Adrienne not appreciating the lack of subtlety. Besides. It wasn't as if the mansion hadn't come up against people who disapproved of how it operated before. It had always survived. "You go right ahead and educate 'them', dear," Adrienne encouraged. "I'm sure 'they', since you're so close to 'them', would be all ears." Really, how could she expect Adrienne to take her seriously when she didn't even have the balls to name the people she supposedly had the ears of? Adrienne raised her bidding number again, but this time called out "twenty thousand" before smiling sweetly and offering Brand the counter bid.

There was a long pause. Brand narrowed her eyes at Adrienne. obviously displeased at how things had gone and trying to think of her next comeback. The pause lasted long enough for the auctioneer to clear his throat meaningfully.

"Madam? Do you wish to counter the bid?"

Brand glanced away from Adrienne to the auctioneer, and then to Garrison, standing awkwardly on the stage. "No," she replied at last, dropping her sign. "Not this time."

Kane watched Brand walk slowly away, puzzled at what had just transpired. The auctioneer slammed down the gavel, indicating that Adrienne's bid had won, and she came up to the polite applause to meet Garrison at the cash table to settle up. As she did, Kane leaned over to her.

"What was all that about?"

"I think it was a live audition to be a villain in the next superhero blockbuster?" Adrienne mused with an amused look on her face. "Or maybe someone was trying to Punk you? Is that still a thing?"

"I don't think I'm famous enough to be punked. I guess she felt like she wanted to yank your chain for some reason."

Adrienne looked over at Brand's departing form and shrugged again. "I think if you have cash you can pay anyone to punk anyone. Speaking of which, I should totally do that." But she contemplated his theory that Brand wanted to yank her chain. "Well, I'm not entirely sure that worked out the way she anticipated," she murmured, hiding a smirk. "Maybe she should try to take me on in the boxing ring next time or something. Now, can you come down from there so I can take my prize home?"

"I'm actually surprised that you're willing to wait that long to unwrap it."

"Hey, I've been super classy tonight. Don't tempt me to ruin that."