Jophiel

(Continued from here.)

Angel passed through the curtains leading from the main section of the AFW Arena to the backstage area, sighing lightly once she was out of sight of the audience and the trio standing in the ring. That didn't go as well as she planned, but few things around here ever did. She couldn't be too upset with how things turned out, all things considered, but at the very least she hoped that Brittany would remember her and her threats. It was something to worry about later, she decided. Right now, she had other things on her mind.

She pulled out her phone as she walked through the backstage hallways, bringing up her contact list. It took her a second to find Mercy's name, but once she did, she hammered out a quick text message to her.

in the lounge
don't make me wait too long
;)

She hit send, and then tucked her phone back into her pocket, taking a turn down a different hallway, heading for the employee lounge area. This late into the evening, it was empty. Everyone else was either in the locker rooms or getting ready to head out to the ring, or had already left after doing their things. It was good. The Latina preferred it this way.

She stepped up to a vending machine in the lounge, and popped in a couple coins, grabbing a bottle of water. She unscrewed the lid and made her way to a couch, dropping onto it and taking a long sip, patiently waiting for Brittany's silly little thing to finish, patiently waiting for Mercy to arrive.

Once that mess of a promo had been decided and Mercy was able to escape the ring, she quickly decided to peel off from Karisma and Brittany and go off on her own. She just couldn't be around them anymore for one night. At least not until some time had passed. She needed a shower too, to wash off everything that had just happened.

When she got to her locker, she began to undo her outfit and once that was was off, she checked her phone and found a text. Looking down at her already naked form and then back at the showers, she sighed and thumbed out a quick reply.

Mercy Wrenn wrote:
neeeeed shower. b there soon. pls w8!

As much as she wanted to take her time, she got wet, scrubbed down and got out. She put her hair in a tight bun while she dressed She shook it out, pulled it up again and stuffed a pen in it to hold it in place. 'The only thing a cheapo pen is good for!' She mused.

She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a light blue blouse with some Japanese on it. She made her way quickly to the lounge and popped in, searching for Angel and walking over to her when she spotted the Latina. She had made the woman wait about fifteen minutes, so she quickly apologized. "Sorry!" She said. "I was pretty sweat and..." She blushed. "Um, well... I'm sorry about Brittany too..." She said. "I don't know what her and that other girl are even doing... I ... uh, didn't' really have a say in the matter..."

By the time Mercy had arrived, Angel was lying back on the couch, her legs draped over the side of it, the Latina looking up towards the ceiling with a somewhat thoughtful look on her face. When she heard the sound of Mercy's footsteps upon the floor as she entered the room though, she quickly sat up, offering the paralegal a disdainful wave of her hand.

"Forget it. Snakey and that other bitch are just trying to act like they're big news around here, you know?" She glanced over Mercy as she spoke, letting her eyes look up and down over the woman's body. She was looking good, even better than Angel remembered from the last time they had met.

She decided to get right to the heart of things, deciding it was best to get it out of the way. "So...been a while, chica. Why are you hanging around with that wannabe anyway?"

"Too long..."

Mercy muttered the words with a blush developing on her cheeks. Unfortunately, she couldn't just spend the time ogling the girl. The question Angel asked, while not surprising, was quit sobering. Mercy was reluctant, but she knew she had to answer.

"I, uh, actually I work for her now..." She said, embarrassment rife in her tone. "When Lukretia fired me, I was pissed, but not completely out of luck. I was coming back to AFW to try and get a new job when Brittany offered me one as her personal assistant."

Mercy turned her head. "She pays me stupid money and I don't have to do much at all except listen to her and Karisma talk about how great and pretty they both are. Sometimes she dresses me up like you saw tonight, but it's a small price to pay for basically robbing Brittany blind." She paused, stalling.

"Well, that's how I saw it. Taylor didn't really see it that way." Mercy lowered her head, deep shame appearing in her body language. "She threw money in my face and told me how terrible I was. I'm the one responsible for her leaving." She said, looking quite upset. "I hate it but... I'm still cashing those checks." Mercy sighed. "So... maybe she is right..."

"Angel..." She said, looking up. "If you think I'm an idiot too, well..." She didn't really finish her thoughts.

Angel listened to Mercy, motioning for her to take a seat too, waiting for the woman to finish. She was quiet for a few moments, then offered Mercy one of her typical shrugs.

"I don't think you're an idiot, chica. Made a bad choice? Sure, but you're not an idiot." She looked straight at Mercy, giving her a smile, trying show that she wasn't upset or anything. "You just need to get away from Snakey, that's all. Now, if you keep working for her? Then you'll probably be an idiot. You can do better than that bitch."

She reached down to the floor, grabbing her bottle of water, and raised it up to her lips to take a drink from. She stopped, though, right as the bottle hit her lips, and lowered it back down, looking back over at Mercy.

"...so, Taylor really left, huh?"

Mercy plopped down next to Angel and crossed her legs. She was grateful to get off her feet. Still, it was hard to look at Angel as she spoke. She looked down. "Um..." Mercy said. "I haven't really been paid this much since I worked for Lukretia's old lawyer." Mercy paused. "But..." She said and turned and looked at Angel. "I, uhhh..." Mercy looked over the Latina.

"I was told that easy money was the best kind of money and this is pretty easy money but I'm starting to see that easy money isn't always easy. I'm not sure if I can just leave this gig yet, though... please don't um..." Mercy wanted to say more but she didn't have the words or, she believed, the place, to speak them. She just lowered her head and shrugged.

"I guess..." Mercy said. "I thought I could be her friend and that this job wouldn't be a big deal but like she's going to talk to me..." Mercy sighed. "She stuck up for me and I stabbed her in the back..."

Mercy looked back at Angel. "I could really use another night out some time." She said. "Maybe that would help give me some perspective on how to do what I need to do..."

Angel was silent, taking in Mercy's words and her incomplete thoughts. She nodded along with her, waiting for her to finish, and then once Mercy had trailed off she suddenly jumped up to her feet, turning to the paralegal, looking down at her with a smile.

"Alright, chica. Enough of this. I didn't have you meet me tonight just so you could sit around and be mopey, especially after going so long without so much as even a call from you!" She grinned, and folded her arms over her chest, throwing a quick wink to the pinkette.

"You don't have any plans tonight...and don't even say you do, chica! They're canceled. You want a night out, and I could go for another badass meal paid for by the company, so let's get the hell out of here. What do you say?" She reached out, offering a hand to Mercy to help her back up off of the couch again. "No point sitting around here in a slump, you know?"

Mercy's eyes widened as Angel stood up. She blushed deeply but then smiled very coyly and put her dainty hand into Angel's strong one and pulled, hopping up to her feet.

"Heh, sounds great! I'll tell Britt I'm off for the night. She can handle herself for a day. She did it before, apparently." Mercy said and then looked Angel over.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that..." Mercy said. "Things got pretty, uh, crazy..." She admitted. She then nudged Angel in the side. "But it's not like you were calling either!" She teased. "How are you going to get the company to pay for our dinner again without one of the suits comping it?" She asked, curious about what kind of strings Angel could pull.

Angel gave Mercy's hand a squeeze, pulling her up to her feet. She was smiling, but after Mercy's question, she suddenly looked rather sheepish. She lifted hand to the back of her head, slowly rubbing it, giving Mercy a shrug in response.

"...yeah, you got fired, didn't you? Shit." She suddenly felt rather silly, but only for a second, shaking her head and putting her usual grin back on.

"Screw it. I'm loaded. Dinner's on me tonight, chica." She nudged Mercy back, a gentle elbow against her, and tilted her head down at her. "Anywhere you want to go, chica. Let's get Brit the Bitch out of head and go get some food!"

Mercy winced when Angel assumed. She shook her head sheepishly and was about to open her mouth when Angel said she would cover. Mercy could probably cover too, but she was always told never stop someone who is willing to pull their wallet out for you.

The rest of it was easy and Mercy grinned with childish delight. "Octopus's Garden!" She said, pointing triumphantly into the air. "It's my favorite place!" Her eyes bulged and just the thought was making her drool.

She looked at Angel with hungry eyes and tugged on the Latina's arm. "Who am i supposed to be forgetting about!?" She said, giggling a bit as she pulled out her phone and sent Brittany a quick text.