The afternoon weather was turning out to be far more pleasant than Kittie had anticipated so by the time she and Kizzy left her apartment, both of them were wearing hats and gloves.  Their dresses were brand new and shone with intricate beading, and both of them were wearing several strands of pearls.  After flipping through several popular women’s magazines she had settled on “opulent, yet modestly rich.”   With a spritz of perfume and a slap on Kizzy’s rump Kittie smiled and pulled them both over to the full length mirror by the door. 

“What do you see Kizzy?  Because I see a couple of mousey rich girls in need of a good time.” 

“I don’t even recognize myself!” Kizzy exclaimed. 

“That’s the point my dear.  Quattlebaum thinks he’s an Adonis and that women automatically flock to him.  But we’re not going to go that way.  We let him come to us.  It lowers his guard, makes him work extra hard for us, he won’t give up if he thinks we’re just to shy to say yes.” 

There was a honk from outside and the girls grabbed their clutches and went out to the street. 

“That’s not your car.” 

“Correct.  It’s a friend’s car.  He owes me a favor.  Vince, meet Kizzy.”  Vince was dressed like a chauffeur and only gave the girls a brief nod.  “Ok Kizzy, it’s off to the races!” 

“Polo.” 

“The polo races!” 

Kizzy rolled her eyes and gave a small smile to Vince, already slipping into the role of snotty rich girl. She smoothed her dress out over her knees as she settled into the backseat. She and Kittie discussed the scenery more than the plan on the ride over. They were both professionals in the art of seduction, knew how to not only use their own talents but how to play off of one another to gain the trust of a mark.

So when they finally arrived at the polo field, they both knew immediately how to stand just far enough from one another--and yet just close enough--to send out the right message. They motioned toward their fellow spectators and bent their heads in close as though to whisper secrets. Then they spread their lips in suggestive closed-mouth smiles. Of course, when the players arrived on the field, trotting around, they found themselves in front-row seats, able to point out Quattlebaum, blush, giggle, and whisper fervently to each other. Quattlebaum noticed. Kizzy's hat somehow managed to drop in front of him, and he swept out his arm to catch it. When he held it out to her, she blushed deeply, unable to meet his eyes, and snatched the hat back. She stared at the wooden bleachers, her eyes flitting up now and then to watch his back as he trotted away with his team. As the game properly started, Kizzy leaned in to Kittie, her teeth gleaming in a smile as she murmured a few words.

"We are definitely in."

Kittie's admiration of her partner in crime had tripled with the last move and she ordered two cordials, hoping to stay cool in the warmth of the day.  The breeze was light and refreshing and Kittie made sure to look up with interest any time Quattlebaum's horse came near.  Kizzy would lean near to whisper what was going on and Kittie nodded, trying to absorb the little facts and tidbits Kizzy was feeding her.  Kizzy enjoyed polo having watched many matches while she was in college but Kittie knew very little about it and was relying on the other woman to make sure she didn't make any flubs once they got a chance to chat with their mark. 

"Kizzy, do tell me how much longer we'll be here.  I know I'm supposed to be just thrilled to death, but frankly, it's warm down here and all I can smell is horse.  I hate horses." 

Kizzy pulled out a slim silver pocket watch and flicked it open. After taking note of the time, she smiled over to her companion and snapped it closed once more.

"Surely you can deal with the sweaty beasts for five more minutes, dear? The last chukkar is about halfway done."

Kittie sighed and settled back in the wooden seat, tilting her second glass of cordial back to drain the final swig. Kizzy was still playing the prude, sipping lightly at the syrupy drink. To be honest, it was mostly because she was used to much stronger stuff. If she was back at the bar, she could knock back vodka shots with the best of them, but right now she was trying not to choke on the sweet drink in front of her. Once the game was over, Quattlebaum's team rode triumphantly to receive their trophy. Kizzy didn't stick around to see if they let the horses drink champagne or whatever. She was already on her feet, making sure that she was in full view of the grandstand. She made a show with Kittie of trying to convince her to leave, before "he" came back. Finally, they made their way down from the bleachers--then took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at the stables, stepping out just in front of Quattlebaum as he was closing up the last of his boxes. He recognized the two immediately and flashed them a wolfy grin.

He wasn't a handsome man. Not an ugly man, either, though. It seemed that the amount of breeding you would expect in a polo champion had not produced any kind of striking looks. He had a somewhat heavy brow that cast a shadow over his dark eyes, but he couldn't hide the lecherous gaze with which he was sizing up Kittie and Kizzy.

"Well, well, it doesn't seem like you've lost your hat again, miss, so is there something else I can help you with?"

Kizzy laughed softly, her eyes once more glued to the ground.

"Oh, sir, I must apologize. I should have thanked you when you handed my hat back." Her eyes met his for a moment. "I'll have to thank you now, I suppose. But...well, I'm also afraid that I must ask you another favor, because I really don't know how we ended up at the stables. We took a wrong turn in this maze of a place, I suppose."

Kittie fanned herself in delicate strokes, the warming air barely touching her face.  Kizzy was looking so demure, a slight blush on her face, her eyes turned up innocently.  Quattlebaum on the other hand was looking more lecherous by the moment.  A crooked smile crept up his face, his thick brow lifting some as he came closer to her companion.  Kittie shifted uncomfortably, her new shoes sinking into the soft dirt near the stables, finally she cleared her throat.  

"Excuse me sir, we're obviously in the wrong place, if you could give us directions on how to get back to the spectators area?"  Her smile was wan, wondering if he'd hit on them right away, or try to invite then out for drinks.  She gave Kizzy a friendly pat.  "She's always telling me where to go and I never listen." 

Quattlebaum stepped closer to Kizzy and put his thick hand on her shoulder.  "You ladies up for a good time?  You could always wait for me to get cleaned up and I'll take you out for drinks."  Kittie looked down and Kizzy flushed, her face and neck red. 

"Why, I'm not sure we can do that sir, I'm not sure it'd be appropriate."  Kittie kept looking down, mostly so that Quattlebaum wouldn't see the amused look on her face. 

"Oh, come on, just a bit of a drink. I'm sure fine young ladies like yourselves don't touch anything stronger than seltzer anyway, huh?" Quattlebaum tilted Kizzy's chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. They seemed slightly mismatched--the same murky brown color, sure, but one of them seemed to glare at her with a fixed, crazed look. She squirmed for a bit, then broke into an uneasy grin.

"Oh...well, just something cool and refreshing would be wonderful, actually." Quattlebaum kept his hand firmly on Kizzy's shoulder, gripping it somewhat tightly now. "I-I'm sure that he can show us to the track's club room, right?" Kizzy gave him a disarming smile. He slipped his grip downward, around her arm.

"Actually, the hotel I'm staying at has a wonderful little bar. I'll take you two there. Just stay right here. Gotta make sure these damn Chicago stable boys now how to take care of real polo pony. If I told you how much I payed for them, I'd probably be picking your jaws up off the floor." He released Kizzy, but his hand slid down the curve of her waist meaningfully. He ran his eyes up and down Kittie, too, before stalking off, his hand beating a tune against his thigh. Kizzy released a sigh that held more relief than she intended. Kittie leaned against a closed stable door across from her and started playing absently with the handle of a polo mallet leaning against the wall. The brunette grinned at her blonde companion and spoke in  a low voice.

"Bit more handsy than I expected. At least he's eager to have us, though, right?"

Kizzy nodded, flashing a somewhat nervous grin to Kittie before returning the stage whisper. "Yeah, remember when we tried this with the mayor? He was all over us almost before we opened our mouths." She paused, listening to footsteps approaching from further in the stables. Her voice dropped to a low whisper. "And boy was he willing to pay to shut us up, right?"

Kittie laughed, certainly remembering the look on the mayor's face when they showed him the pictures. Suddenly, Quattlebaum was next to them once more, still smelling heavily of horses and sweat. He wrapped his arms around each of their shoulders and lowered his head in a mock conspiratorial manner. "Whatever are you two girls giggling about here?"

Kizzy's gaze met Kittie's, and they both broke into giggles once more. Kizzy raised her hand up to rest on Quattlebaum's face. She didn't seem very demure as she purred to him, "Oh, just remembering good times gone by."

Quattlebaum nodded and chuckled. "Oh, well we're about to have some more good times that you can remember later." He suddenly paused, his gaze fixed on Kizzy. She waited for him to say something, then nervously smoothed her hair.

"Uh...heh, is something wrong?"

Quattlebaum broke into a shit-eating grin. "No, not at all. Just admiring your perfection and thinking I should just..." Before Kizzy knew what was happening, the man had wrapped both his arms around her, demonstrating an impressively strong grip. His lips were crushing into hers, and he was pushing her against a stable door. Her hat fell to the ground, and this time he didn't even notice. She tried to wriggle away from him, but he was holding her tightly--she could already tell that there would be bruises where his fingers were holding onto her shoulders. He finally pulled his lips away from hers, only to press them further down, nosing through her clothes like an animal.

"Kittie! Kittie, help!"

The sudden show of sexual agression shocked Kittie and she stood by helplessly wondering if Kizzy was acting and letting Quattlebaum play a little rough before they left, or if Quattlebaum was as much of a monster as he'd been made out to be.  Before she could debate this any more Kizzy broke free long enough to call for help.  

"Stop it!" Kittie shouted as she tried to pull at one of Quattlebaum's arms.  Before she could get a proper hold he pushed her away with so much force she stumbled back and hit her head on the stable door behind her.  Kizzy was in more trouble than she thought.  Kittie's purse lay in the dirt but she remembered that she and Kizzy had agreed not to come armed, just in case they were searched.  "God dammit."  Kittie got to her feet and lept at Quattlebaum, managing to scratch his face and grab onto a lapel.  Again he hit her, this time with a closed fist, while still holding on to Kizzy. 

"I don't like anyone laughing at me." His voice was low and ragged, his eyes blazing with unbridled fury.  "Especially dames."   Kizzy pulled away, kicking the man in his shins.  The temporary distraction loosened his grip on her but only enough to cause her to fall.  He loomed over her, unfastening his belt with one hand.  There was a crooked smile on his face as he began to kneel down, pinning Kizzy to the dirt.

Kittie shook the cobwebs from her head and looked around for anything she could use as a weapon.  She jiggled several stable doors but they were locked.  Finally, she saw the polo mallet she had been playing with earlier.  "Dear God, please don't let me miss."  She grabbed the mallet and without a second thought swung it at Quattlebaum.  It connected with his back and he lurched forward.  But Kittie knew he was strong and that her blow had been almost useless.  She hit him again, hitting his right shoulder.  He buckled on that side. 

"God dammit, aim for his fucking head!" Kizzy screamed. 

"I'm trying!"  Kittie took a little longer to aim, this time channeling her rage through her arm and into the mallet as it came down against the back of Quattlebaum's skull.  There was a dull thump and then he fell hard.  Kittie rushed over and grunted as she pushed his body off of Kizzy.  "I don't think I killed him, let's get the hell out of here!"  She wiped down the mallet as Kizzy picked up their hats and purses. As Kittie came back over to where Quattlebaum lay a small glimmer caught her eye.  She bent to retrieve a round, white stone, recoiling when she realised she had just picked up a false eye.  "Oh shit."  She stared at Kizzy.  "We HAVE to get out of here NOW." 

Kizzy stood there for a moment, glaring fiercely down at the prostrate man and panting. She gave his chest a swift kick, ignoring the pain in her toe. She picked up their dropped effects, making sure that nothing had fallen out of their purses. Everything seemed to be in a sort of slow motion. She felt calm as she watched Kittie pick up something shining, then drop it in disgust.

"Wait--" Kizzy bent down and picked it up again, brushing a piece of straw off. She then laughed and slipped it into her purse. "That wily old bastard. Come on, give me that mallet real quick." Kittie gave her an exasperated look before handing it over, her foot tapping impatiently. Kizzy flicked out a handkerchief from Quattlebaum's pocket and wiped down the mallet's handle carefully before placing it back against the stable door. "Now, we go."

Kizzy suddenly took off at a brisk walk, and Kittie was only too eager to follow. They both kept their hats' brims low across their faces and blended quickly into the thinning crowd as they left the track. Suddenly, there was a buzzing through the crowd--the whispers were all around that Quattlebaum, star of the game and millionaire, had been found knocked out, an eye missing!

Kittie grabbed Kizzy's arm and made sure to keep her eyes at waist height, looking for guns and not wanting to catch anyone's eye.  

"Keep your head down, I don't think any one really cares about two drunk women leaving in a hurry but I don't want anyone getting ideas."

She was worried about what Kizzy had been through and  just wanted to get Kizzy, herself and the glass eye home.  It had dawned on her right as she had dropped the glass orb that there was something different about it, but she had been too flustered by the idea that she might have killed New York's richest man.  

"Vince! VINCE! Start the car!"  Kittie and Kizzy dashed through the rest of the crown and practically dove into the back seat of Vince's car.  

"Please take us to the Grand will you?  I don't want to go back home for a while."