Gin Mills and the Goods

Unofficial Orientation

Tedros prefers dancing in a group to performing alone.

Sure, performing alone is good, and he's good at it, but it doesn't have the same rush. No quick spins or heel turns or the constant change and movement that keeps him entertained as he swaps from centre to the side to the back and then back again.

Well, he normally does, anyway. Right now, he's more than a little irritated.

He can see Hort sat at Sophie's table, and he can't decide if he's more irritated at himself or the other boy. It's obvious that Sophie isn't interested, even as Hort jabbers away. Tedros had basically shoved Hort towards her to protect himself, and whilst being chatted at every night by an annoying butcher's boy wasn't quite comparable to having said butcher's boy expose your secret gig to your ex-army father and getting the club shut down, he still felt bad.

He catches his smile slipping, and rearranges his face so that his internal I-want-to-bash-Hort's-head-in monologue isn't visible externally. Not that it would matter too much- everyone around the stage is too drunk to really care, Sophie is obviously distracted, and the Lady and her cronies are conspicuously absent.

When he'd mentioned this to Beatrix, she'd shrugged.

"Not abnormal. Truth be told, right now is the most we've been seein' her for a while. She ain't exactly a regular. Why, do you want her to be here?"

"No. She creeps me out." Tedros had told her, which was true enough.

But there's an odd atmosphere tonight, and he can't help but think it's something to do with Lady A's absence.

Tedros dismisses the thought, narrowly avoiding a slightly off-centre kick from Kiko and moving towards the left side of the stage. He's probably just unused to not having Hester's gaze burning a hole in his back at all times. She still doesn't trust him, he can tell that much-

"It's tonight. They're followin' out another mole in a couple minutes."

Tedros catches the snippet of conversation as he swaps places with Beatrix- two men sat at a table near the stage, apparently feeling that the roar of the club is enough to mask their conversation.

"They really caught another? Even after the Baker problem?" says the second, frowning. He's unassuming- doesn't look interesting at all. Maybe that's the point. "That... ain't good. Don't you think they may be underestimatin' em, slightly?"

"Maybe. I told the bosses to be more careful, but they didn't listen..." says the dark-haired one, resigned. "Instead, they're sendin' some guys out to accompany him."

"So they're gonna walk right in an' get jumped?"

"You got it. It's the best precaution, see?"

Who were they talking about? It was obviously business they didn't want being overheard, so they'd made a miscalculation in sitting where they were, but whoever it was, they-

"I mean, even they're surprised at how hard Lady A is provin' to catch."

Tedros's foot skids on the stage floor and he only just rights himself in time to avoid slamming into Reena.

Swearing under his breath, he looks back up-

And meets Beatrix's wide eyes.