There was that feeling again, in her stomach that felt like she was falling, that she was doomed. She inhaled sharply, holding the folder in her arms even tighter as she squeezed her eyes shut and wished she could be anywhere but there. She knew there were four more people ahead of her before she could have her turn to shine. And not a damn clue how many were after, but she knew deep in her heart that regardless of how many she was better than, she was doomed to fail. Her breathing started coming out faster, shorter, as she wrestled mentally with getting control over herself. She had no idea how long she had sat there, dazed and in a panic. Her name was called once, twice, she looked up her eyes wide with terror, and got to her feet. "He..here," she told the woman at the door as she struggled to get to her feet. She walked through to the audition room and up onto the stage. She introduced herself, the piece she was going to play, and then watched as those sat in the audience shut down, already writing her off. Biting back a sigh she sat down and started playing, knowing that she was just wasting her time and theirs at this point. Once her song concluded she gathered her sheet music and gave a small curtsey, "Thank you for your consideration." She told them before leaving the room, the building, the area, heading to someplace to get good and stinking drunk. 

She didn't want to deal with people, or answer questions or have to explain anything. She found herself somewhere in Philly, near the Liberty bell sat on the steps watching people hurry past. The sheet music that she normally guarded with her life was tossed to the side of her, and in between sips of the drink, she would take a page, fold it into a small airplane and launch it into the sky to see where it lands. "Fare thee well, my friend, it appears we've hit a sour note." She said before laughing alone. While she sat moping and marinating, an idea came to her head. It was insane, far-fetched, but best of all it would make her father absolutely furious. "Yes!" she said stumbling to her feet and gathering up whatever notes remained. 

She wasn't sure where Runa would be working today, the woman had more jobs than she could keep track of. So she started walking from business to business, sticking her head in going, "Nope!" before heading to the next one. Eventually, Frankie found her, "Runa, I need your help." she told her waving her music folder at her. "I'm done with this bullshit, I'm tired of the games. I'm going to send a message, have a true crescendo, full forte, its time." She told the woman, Frankie's eyes glimmering with chaos, revenge, and cheap gin. "Please, help me." She said quieter, more desperate. 

Runa had found a job working as a salesperson at an importer of exotic goods. She was casing the place for a job- maybe a simple robbery, maybe a takeover. Either way, she'd applied under a fake name just to be safe... and her eyes got wide when Frances walked in. At least her new boss didn't seem to overhear the use of her real name. Runa dragged Frances outside; the pianist was obviously fired up about something, waving her music folder around. 

As she listened to Frances, Runa wasn't sure what the hell the musician was talking about. But she definitely needed help. Runa nodded at Frances.

"Give me 5 minutes; I'll be right back. And if anyone asks, you're my sister and your son needed to go to the hospital with... a head injury."

Runa darted back inside, and emerged again a few minutes later.

"Okay, tell me everything. What's the problem? I'll find a way to help you solve it."

She frowned when Runa told her that she was her sister, the gin and anger muddling her thoughts just enough that it took her a few beats before she realized, "Ohhh they don't... oh shit. oh god." she hit herself in the head with her folder, "I'm so sorry, I didn't blow it for you did I?" she asked looking towards the building before Runa vanished and then returned. Frankie gave a little laugh, "Magic." she shook her head and took a few deep breaths, trying to get her wits about. It wasn't working, perhaps she had misplaced her wits, sold them for gin. Who knew, not her. "Hit me." she told the woman, before tapping her cheek. "Just a solid wallop." she went a bit limp, waiting for the hit. 

"Um..."

Runa studied Frances carefully, wondering if the other woman was okay.

"No, you didn't blow anything for me; it's fine. Really. And, uh, okay."

Runa had been practicing hand to hand combat with her bodyguard, Tony, and she'd been a quick pupil. Fortunately, she wasn't particularly strong, but she threw a well-placed hook that connected solidly with Frances' cheek.

"Do you... feel okay, Frances? Why don't we get a drink- some water or coffee or something- and you can tell me what's going on?"

She felt the blow land and rolled with it so Runa wouldn't hurt her knuckles all the while letting out a noise of pain, "Damn." she said as she rubbed her jaw, her head clearing up a bit. "Coffee sounds good, but that should knock some sense into me until that happens." she looped her arm through Runa's and tugged her towards Velvet's, figuring they'd be let in and given a bit of privacy. As they walked, Frankie asked, "Sister?" glancing over at the other woman, curious. 

Runa rubbed her knuckles.

"You're a weird one, Frankie. But I like you. And yea- always wanted a sister. Needed to give my boss a reason for me missing the rest of my shift."

As they walked, Runa considered their previous discussions.

"Is this about what we discussed before? Lining you up for a fancy job? You said someone might be blacklisting you, right?"

She nodded her head, "Sisters are overrated, I am one so I speak from experience." She told her. As they walked she thought about how to explain this without sounding like she needed to be locked away, but then realized she already asked the woman to punch her so she was a bit past that point now. "So my father lives up north." she started out, hesitantly. "I wasn't kidding about teaching you the useless lady manners, he's a shipping mogul. Figured out early this country would boom and managed to get in and make a claim." she paused for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. 

They walked on quietly, as she tried to put the words right in her head. It wasn't nearly as easy as writing music, this talking to people. "When I was born I was a disappointment, but someone had to take over some day, and thus I was no longer Frankie getting to explore gardens or climb trees. I was Frances, the perfect debutante of the city." she snorted, "So poised you'd assume I was made of wax." 

"Well when my brother finally blessed us with his existence, I was pushed aside and instead of math and negotiations and business things, I was taught how to serve tea, sit properly and play the piano. Just like a proper upper-class lady should, be seen and only heard for the pleasure of others." she made a motion with her hand to show, and so on and so on you can imagine really before tucking her hands in her pockets and pulling her shoulders up to her ears. "I ran off, there was a big fight and I came here. He said I would never be able to use my name to get anywhere." she laughed bitterly, "I had assumed he meant in business, I mean he had taught me enough to put him out of business if I wanted to." 

She pulled her music folder out from under her arm where she had tucked it, "Had an audition today, wasn't like the one at Velvet's, this was proper orchestra shows and plays. Its the kind of thing I've dreamed of performing, writing, living." she laughed, it sounded hollow even to her, "Guess the old man knew where to hit me, cut me off and now he has me by my fingers." 

Listening closely as Frances described her family situation, Runa realized that she was far from the only person with a complicated family. In fact, maybe those complications did more to lead people into this way of life? Frances' life of luxury was foreign to Runa, who had only just been able to make inroads into the life of wealth and opulence that Frances seemed to have inherited.

Runa was quiet for a little while, thinking. A few weeks back, she would have been more excited or erratic in her response. A burst of pity for Frances, emotional reassurance... but now? She was a different woman. 

"Frances, I see three ways out of this. I guess it depends on how angry you are at your father for ruining your life."

She ticked off the options on her fingers.

"First, we could just ignore your father and focus on this job here in Philly. We find out who else auditioned, and we just mess up everyone's life. One person gets caught in a scandalous affair. Another applicant gets threatened to get the hell out of town. Another gets arrested after we plant drugs on them. We go down the list, and we fuck with everyone who isn't you until the Philadelphia... Symphony? Orchestra? Whatever they call themselves, they won't have anyone else but you."

Runa paused.

"The second and thirds options would involve going after your father. We could mess with his business, give him more problems to worry about than screwing with his daughter's life. You said you had a lot of knowledge there- we could cost him a lot of money and time. Or we could go after him directly."

"What do you think?"

Lost in thought for a moment she chewed her lower lip as she ran through the options Runa had come up with, "As much as I would love to go directly after the man, I don't want to see my Mother suffer. My brother," she paused and waved her hand, "Him I could take or leave." she pulled away and took a few steps away, crossing her arms over her chest before she started to pace, "How..." she furrowed her brow and started walking a bit faster. She stopped, opening her mouth to speak and then shaking her head and starting her journey again. She did this for a bit, her mind racing as she considered how this could go, logically thinking out the paths ahead of her and the risks that may need to be mitigated before the end and she finally stopped and moved towards Runa, "Sorry," she told the woman sheepishly for a second. "For a minute I forgot our line of work." She laughed softly, reaching up to nervously tuck her hair back under her hat. "It's been a long day."

They started walking again, "So assuming we limit the number of pianists in this city, how do we go about finding them all?" She asked, sorta wanting to be like Runa when she grew up, "Put an ad in the paper for a free piano to someone who can play chopsticks with their eyes closed?" she asked, jokingly before she opened her eyes wider, "Oh..." 

Runa patted Frances on the shoulder.

"I know you're living rough right now, but most of these guys already have their own instruments. Let me handle that part. I'll get into the offices for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Shouldn't be too bad. Give me a couple days to get the names and do some digging around, then I'll find you."

With a wink, she disappeared down an alley before Francis could say anything else. 

2 Days Later

Frances was sprawled out in bed, snores still echoing in the room, when she realized she wasn't alone. Raising her head from the pillow, she saw Runa sitting on the end of the bed with her legs crossed. She frowned as she filed her nails.

"You need to promise me that you'll leave this place and move into the Apartments once you get this job, Frankie. Anyways, the building was no trouble. Usually these days I play a role, blend in through infiltration. Your job I broke out the black. Very Katte burglar, if you will. No problems."

Runa tucked the nail file away and Frances noticed that Runa was dressed like a cheap hooker.

"No, before you say anything, that's not one of my thirty other jobs. We've got three other pianists to get rid of. The first guy's name is Arthur Hightower. He's a shoo in for the job- married to the daughter of the one of the Orchestra's biggest patrons. Go get dressed. Today, Arthur's out at work. I'm going to show up to his house dressed like this- tell his wife that he hired me. Once I talk to her, then I need you to call the Hightower residence from a payphone or a business across the street, talk some of the dirtiest shit you can get away with. I've planted enough evidence in Arthur's stuff that she'll find plenty to incriminate him. We'll handle this guy, then I'll need your helping brainstorming what we do for the second one on our list."

Rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands she groaned, "Yes, well that is the plan" she told the woman as she stretched and twisted, her body feeling as if she hadn't slept in weeks. "Its either leave or die from lack of proper sleep." she got up and reached for her robe when a cockroach scurried across the floor causing Frankie to shriek and leap away colliding with Runa, and finally she noticed the way the woman was dressed. "Oh. uhm.." She said feeling her face go red and her mouth go dry. She untangled herself quickly and awkardly and grabbed some clothes and quickly started pulling them on. 

"When I call her what am I saying?" she asked, "Like dirty as in "Ma'am, those dishes are crusted." or..." she felt her face go warm again. "Who am I supposed to be in this?" She asked, "am I you?" she frowned. 

Runa shook her head.

"Nah. Just a random floozy. If I show up in person dressed like this looking for Arthur, then you call this poor woman and start talking quickly to him about how excited you are to see him- you know, just try to lead him along a bit, like you're tempting him. Between the two of us, my expectation is that Mrs. Hightower is going to be pissed. She'll tell her family that Artie is in the doghouse, and her father will probably tell the Orchestra that he'll never donate a cent if they hire him."

She grinned.

"After that, we'll have a couple more names to cross off the list. Get dressed and we'll take a cab over to the Hightowers."

She scrambled out of bed, feeling like she had delayed this adventure far longer than was polite. "I didn't mean to over sleep.." She said as she pulled a slightly crumpled blouse off a pile of discarded clothes and gave it a sniff. With a slight grimace she figured Runa had waited long enough, and pulled it on. While doing up the buttons, her head popping out the top she frowned. "A..a cab?" she asked, not wanting to push her luck further, if anyone was gonna make her life hell it'd be the woman before her. 

Grabbing some trousers and then slipping her feet into some shoes she grabbed her purse. "Right, cab. Uh huh, perfectly safe." she said while white knuckle gripping her bag. "I suppose I look the part a bit, for a floozy." she added glancing in the mirror at her very disheveled appearance. Opening the door she gestured Runa out first and then locked it behind her before they left the building ready to continue on their very much timely adventure. 

Runa smirked.

"You don't need to apologize, Frances."

As they entered the hall, Runa slowed, then leaned against the wall. 

"Hey, listen."

Runa's green eyes looked steadily at Frances, and she gave the pianist a smile.

"You're a good friend, Frankie. Really.  There've been plenty of nights in our lives when I've been out late, and I remember you forcing me to go to bed. I appreciate you a lot. But it seems like, I dunno, you're in a tough spot right now."

She reached out and rested a hand on Frankie's shoulder.

"Why don't you let me handle this for you? Go back to bed, get your rest, and we'll run plenty of jobs together. But you had my back attacking that restaurant for me, and I owe you one. Go sleep, and I'll come back and update you... maybe bring you some sandwiches. And when you're feeling ready for action, then we'll hit the town. But hey- whatever you want. Do you really want to come? Or can I handle this for you and bring you lunch?"

She rubbed the back of her neck and stared down at the tips of her shoes. This woman understood her in a way that confused her, and she wasn't used to people actually giving a shit about what she wanted. She had been dealing with a lot, from being terrified that Jack was gonna off her for her antics, to wondering if she did the right thing with the job, basically this entire life of hers was so different from what she knew, and she was still struggling to find a foot hold and really make a place for herself. 

"Damn it, Runa." She muttered before looking at the woman. "Please don't do anything stupid. Please don't get hurt..." she nodded her head, thinking to herself. "And I know you're more capable than I am, at things like this, but if you need back up please come get me." she felt her body relax, for the first time in what felt like weeks, the pressure off at last. "I bit off more than I could chew." she admitted, "Tried to run before I learned to walk." she waved her hand, they both knew there were plenty of idioms to use in this moment. "No wonder Jack avoids me." she said with a bitter laugh. 

Frankie reached out and gave her friend a hug, "I'll do you a deal, I'll rest and then move my things over to Velvet's. And once you are done, come see my new home that isn't this shithole, but also.." As if on cue, her stomach started to rumble and she laughed, "Bring those sandwiches." She said, squeezing the other woman's arm. "But seriously, don't get hurt. We don't have a doctor on call or anything." she told her quickly, as a saving Grace. 

Runa squeezed her shoulder, then released it.

"After what I've been through recently, this'll be easy. Go rest. Give me a little while and you'll be back tickling the ivories in a fancy concert hall. And hey- Jack is very fond of you." 

She returned the hug.

"That deal sounds pretty good. And yea... definitely no injuries for me."

Runa winked as she turned and made her way down the hall, already planning out her next moves. 

Ethel Hightower had never really been truly shocked. Growing up in the lap of luxury, she'd been protected from that sort of extreme upheaval. Everything had been planned for her: the best schools, the best clothes, the best of everything. She'd been surprised when Arthur got down on one knee, but not shocked. This was the man her father had picked for her, after all. The result was preordained. 

So when an incredulous maid reported that a strange woman was in the foyer looking for Arthur, Ethel was unprepared for the unexpected. 

The woman in question seemed to have walked out of some illicit photograph: she was wearing a skirt far too short for good taste, a revealing top that exposed her brassiere, and her blonde hair was messily hanging down to her shoulders. She also had the sort of body that... why the hell was this woman in her foyer?

"Howdya do, Miss. I had an appointment with Art, if you could get him. Sorry, the regular girl was out sick today, so they sent me instead."

Ethel stared as the stranger looked curious, then nervous.

"Oh fuck, am I at the wrong... no the address was..."

The blonde straightened up, looking nervous and heading for the door.

"Uh, sorry Mrs. Hightower, I...."

She ran off as Ethel sent a vase flying after the tramp. 

In a rage, Ethel watched the young woman scamper down the walkway. She was tempted to call the police, but no... what she really wanted to do was to call her husband immediately.

As she walked to the phone, she was surprised to find it already ringing. A woman's voice spoke as soon as she lifted the phone from its cradle.

"Mr. Hightower, this is Violet from the agency... I'm afraid that one of our new girls is heading to your home rather than your prearranged hotel room. It was a clerical mix up and we assure you it won't happen again; we know you've mentioned that your wife can't-"

Ethel slammed the phone down and picked it back up against almost immediately; soon, she was shouting into the receiver.

"DADDY! MY GOD! You'll never believe what Arthur has done to me..."

There weren't too many concert pianists, Runa supposed. I mean, sure, lots of people could play piano. But the fancy classical stuff? There just weren't that many great orchestras in the States, and Philadelphia had one of them. Richard Hart had come down from Boston to audition, and he was staying in a room at The Albatross.

The problem was that he stayed in his room. The guy barely left, paying extra to get food brought right to him. After a whole day of failing to find an opening, Runa decided to create her own. It was easy to slip the man at the front desk a couple hundred bucks and request a small favor.

Twenty minutes later, Runa was dressed as a maid and cleaning the hallway when Hart emerged from his room, locking it behind him.

As soon as he turned the corner, Runa was at the door reaching for the lockpick in her hair. It felt like forever for her to get the door open, but it finally clicked and she slipped into the room. Reaching into her pocket, she stashed one of the two large bags of cocaine under the mattress and hid the other one in Hart's luggage. Moving quickly, she locked and closed the door behind her, returning to her work cleaning the hallway just as Hart returned.

Runa took her time finishing the hallway, then called her friend on the force from a payphone across the street. 

Two down- one to go.

Runa waited before she hit the third pianist. It would look too suspicious if everyone dropped at once. One guy getting arrested? Scandalous, but not suspicious. Another guy getting blacklisted by a wealthy patron for whoring around? Different enough that it shouldn't be too overtly suspicious.

The third guy getting in trouble might be a bridge too far. Henry Lee, Runa decided, needed to decline the job that had been offered to him. She watched him for a day, following him around Philadelphia as he took his family around to see the sights.

The toughest part was getting him alone; after a second day of surveillance, Runa gave up. He was a family man, and barely left the house on his own. The only time he wasn't actively around his family was when they went to bed and he stayed up to read.

The poor soul had fallen asleep  lying on the couch in his living room. Lee was a large man whose beard couldn't hide a round face; his large stomach moved up and down with an open book on top of it. Runa, wearing a black catsuit and bandana that hid everything below her eyes, removed her knife and covered Lee's mouth with her other hand. 

"Shhhhhhhhhhh. Not a word."

Lee's eyes snapped open, and she tightened her hand on his mouth to keep him quiet.

"Henry," she purred. "If you wake up your family, I'm going to have to kill them. Is that what you want?"

The fat man shook his head.

"Good. Now listen. You're going to go to Martin and tell him that you can't accept the job. Make up any reason you like. I don't care. But make it sound genuine."

Runa reached around to her back pocket and removed a roll of bills that she dropped on him.

"Tell your lie, take the money, and get out of town. If you call the police, your family dies. If you tell Martin the truth, your family dies. In fact, if you do anything else other than quit and fuck off, your family dies. That money will make this much easier for you. Now lie there and think about the smart choice, Henry. It's not worth the risk."

She returned her knife to her belt, but kept her handle on it until she was out of the house.

The next day, after confirming Henry had declined the job, Runa picked up a couple cheesesteaks with whatever crazy shit the cook wanted to throw on them. Hey, you can always take stuff OFF a sandwich, but much harder to add it on outside the restaurant. She strolled into the new building where @Frances lived and easily picked the lock of her room. 

Frankie was still asleep- at least she was until a couple sandwiches bounced off her face.

"Time to celebrate, Frankie. Phone'll be ringing soon, I think."