xp_logs | Domino and Amanda, Istanbul, Thursday night (Reply)

While they celebrate a job well-done, Domino lets Amanda know just how much they're all getting paid for the job. Amanda is surprised, to put it mildly.

Domino laughed and sank back down beside Amanda in the booth. "Nice place, huh?" she yelled over the music filling the club. Sarah was still out on the dance floor. Angie had expressed the desire to get some air, and Pete had taken her outside.

"'S brilliant!" Amanda yelled back, unable to keep still even whilst sitting, and half-bouncing to the music in her seat as a result. Her face was alive with exhiliration, all hints of previous trouble gone for now. She grinned at Sarah, creating havoc on the floor with various local boys and the odd backpacker. "An' a good idea, too. Don't think I could've slept - 'm too wired. That was wicked fun!"

"You guys did great!" Domino pronounced, slinging her arm around Amanda's shoulders and picking up her drink. "Seriously. Even with the sudden change of plans." She grinned down at her wickedly. "See, little sis, that's what we call the good kind of adrenalin..."

"'S the sort I could get used to." Amanda beamed, enjoying the praise. "I mean, I thought I'd freak when What's-His-Face decided t' show up with that bloody personal psi-baffle of his, but it actually added t' the fun. Like joy ridin' an' havin' the ol' Bill show up." She nodded in Sarah's direction. "She probably won't admit it, but I think she had fun too. Even without actual killin' people. An' Angie couldn't stop gigglin' later."

"And the artifact's back in the museum where it belongs," Domino said firmly, then giggled. "I think the curator was taken aback by our motley crew. Speaking of which... you want a new bank account, or should I just add your cut to the one Nate and I set up for you?"

"Cut?" Amanda blinked. Oh, of course, there would have been a reward of some kind. A couple of hundred quid would be handy right now, considering the damage she'd done to Manuel's room the previous weekend. "Oh, the one that's already there'll do. Wouldn't make sense t' make a new account just for that - probably won't last long any way." She chuckled ruefully. "A couple of hundred doesn't go that far these days."

Domino raised an eyebrow. "Uhh... Amanda? You know how there were five of us in on this, right?" Amanda nodded. "Well, customary practice is to split the take equally. Which means that we each get about a hundred thousand American out of all of this fun."

It was a good thing Amanda hadn't been drinking anything, or Domino would have had to perform first aid then and there. As it was she had trouble breathing for a minute or two. "A hundred thousand?" she managed to squeak. "_Each_?"

"Yes indeed," Domino said with relish. She'd been looking forward to springing this on them, just to see their reactions. "Nice little nest egg, no?"

"It's a nice little _somethin'_..." Amanda blinked, struggling with the concept. A hundred thousand dollars. American. For her. No, no matter how much she thought about it, it still seemed unreal, a joke or a dream or something. She pinched her arm briefly, but no, not a dream. And Dom wouldn't pull such a bad joke on her little sister. She made a small, strangled 'meep'-ing noise. "That much?"

Domino nodded. "A little high for a job like this, but who's complaining?" she asked merrily. "Should give all three of you something to fall back on. And it's all perfectly legal, too - the five hundred grand was officially a reward for getting the artifact back."

"Oh good. Hate t' think someone was gunna take it away once I got used t' the idea of havin' it. Who am I foolin', there's no gettin' used t' the idea of havin' that much." Amanda shook her head in disbelief, and finished off her drink, even though there was a good third of a glass left. "Bloody hell, what am I gunna do with that much money?" Her tone was losing that shocked edge as her brain started coming to grips with the idea. "I mean, I used t' think I'd be flush with a couple of grand, an' now..."

Domino shrugged, tossing back some of her own drink. "Save it, spend it... I'd probably go the middle road and spend enough to have fun, then invest the rest. Ask Nate when you get home; he'd have some suggestions for you."

"Or Pete. Considerin' he's me guardian, I should probably talk t' him." Amanda grinned a little. "Imagine, me with investments." She thought about it some more. "Me with a future that doesn't involve takin' handouts from anyone." Considering the idea, she realised she liked that one a lot. "I think I could get used t' that idea."

Domino chuckled. "You can't live your life on a hundred grand," she pointed out, "but it's enough to get you settled at the very least." College, maybe, she thought, if Amanda decided to go that way. "Although you know," she said wickedly, "once you're of age and don't have to deal with the overprotective guardian, I find that it's much more fun to not do jobs like this solo."

"You mean it?" Amanda's grin widened. "'Cause, y'know, I think I could get the hang of this. Hired security goons an' all. Besides, I think we'd make a pretty good team..."

Pete and Nate were possibly going to kill her. "I think we would, too," Domino said, beaming. "You'd be surprised how many jobs I get offered that are geared around being sneaky and smart rather than blowing shit up well."

Amanda mock-pouted. "But the blowin' shite up's the _fun_ part!" she protested.

Domino waggled a finger at her. "Now you sound like me! Pete and Nate are going to accuse me of corrupting you!" she laughed.

"Think that happened long before I met you," the girl replied with a snort. Picking up her glass, she looked mournfully at it. "Bugger. How can we toast me new-found career if there's no booze?"

Domino grinned, leaning over and kissing Amanda on the cheek - she was just too damned cute - before getting up. "I'll be right back. More of the same?"

"Lots more of the same." Amanda bounced a little in her seat again. "This is a party, ain't it?"