The ladies romantic-ish moment was interrupted by a loud rapping on the heavy door. It echoed off the shower walls like gunfire. The noise died down, and after a few considerate moments, Svetlana opened the door... slowly. Billie could juuuust barely be seen standing behind the towering blonde. She looked red as a beat, even more so than Mercedes. Maybe it was a good thing they'd opted to 'do themselves'. 

"Now ve go to the ice dip." Svetlana announced with rigid finality. After the women had all gathered themselves enough to follow, they were led back to the main hallway and finally down into the spacious tiled pool room at the end. This part seemed pretty self explanatory, so Svetlana didn't bother to hang around this time. "You go. Go." she ushered them toward the pool with a playful shooing motion before turning to head back out the way she'd come in. "I vill be back vhen is time." She said with a nod, leaving the women to their own devices. 

Billie stood nervously at the edge of the tile steps, pondering whether or not to go in with her robe. How did she keep ending up in these situations? She wondered, silently cursing her big fucking mouth. 

Awk--ward~

Kate made a mental note to speak to Billie about decisiveness later, winked at Mercedes, stripped off her robe, and dove into the water. She covered the distance in a couple steps and had hit the water before the other two had acted. She wasn't exactly the most experienced when it came to water, but she managed to extend her hands and part the water with only a moderate splash. 

The was a certain grace as her lithe body and long legs parted the water... which was immediately lost when she resurfaced, screaming bloody murder and swimming ferociously toward the edge.

"MOTHERFUCKER CUNT BUCKET ASSHOLE FUCK SHIT BRAINED SYPHILITIC RUSSIAN ICE WATER FUCK!"

Her voice reverberated around the room as she gracelessly scrambled to her robe, then ran for some extra towels that she used to quickly rub against herself. She glared at Billie and Mercedes.

"It's. Really. Fucking. Cold."

Thomas had taken himself to the Banya and was relaxing in the cold bath for the males... It was nice, and the atmosphere was wonderful. Especially the shrieking coming from the other side of the building, echoing down the marble tiled floors. Wait... Shrieking? Thomas' eyes shot open and he jumped out of the cold bath in a flash. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around himself and held it with his left hand. He was already running, Colt 1911 in his free hand, water dripping everywhere as his wet feet splattered across the floor. *PLAT PLAT PLAT PLAT PLAT* He sprinted through the reception area, Svetlana looking up as the towel wrapped man flew by.

"Vat is zhe voman's side! You a..." her voice trailed off as he wasn't listening and already down the hall. He bolted into the female cold bath area, gun in the air and his hand still clutching the towel to keep it wrapped around himself. Sliding to a halt he looked about.

Kate was still cursing as she crawled out of the cold bath...nude. That was going to be awkward later. He looked around and saw Billie and Mercedes as well. This could be even -MORE- awkward later.

Slowly he lowered his gun, his gaze meeting with all the women...

"Fock me... Yeh gave me a fockin' fright yeh did!" he yelled as his gun waving arm flew up to cover his eyes. "Am just...gonna go back ta me bath now... Carry on lasses. Am sorry."

Svetlana rushed in behind him, noticing him at -least- covering his eyes. She smacked him in the back of the head a few times.

"Bad man, bad bad man. You go back to your side, RIGHT zis instant!" She grabbed his arm and lead him out. Once he knew he was out of their bath, he lowered his arm and looked at Svetlana, who gave him a....look. He was still dripping wet, in only a towel. She smiled. He grinned in that 'HELP ME' way. Russian chicks man...

Billie cackles aloud watching Kate flail through the frigid water. Her robe crumpled to the ground around her feet as she kicked it slightly off to one side. She took a deep breath. Steadying herself she dipped one toe into the pool, testing the water before wading partially down the stairs, which Kate had seemed to miss. The water had reached about halfway up her thighs before she heard an odd flapping noise approaching from behind. God damn it! She cursed under her breath, readying to make a move for Kate. She should have brought her gun. 

That's when it hit her. Thomas was standing in the entryway.... looking. There was no recovering from this. Every inch of her mocha skin was prickled and pert from the glacial water. She froze and flushed. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She was going to have to go home tonight... they both had to go home tonight... to her flat. And they both worked closely with Noto... who knew they'd both be going home to her flat.  For a second he stared, and she stared back, silently praying that his towel didn't twitch. Then he was screaming.

As the pieces of the picture fell into place, Billie couldn't help but laugh. There was nothing else to do. The whole situation was just too priceless. Her chest heaved and jiggled with her laughter, which only escalated when Svetlana appeared, dragging Thomas out of the room. She continued to laugh as she turned to the other two women, speechless but tittering. 

Watching the scene unfold as Kate scrambles out of the ice water and as Thomas skids into the room, armed, to attempt to 'save' her, Mercedes makes a mental note to stick to the massage next time. As poor Thomas is unceremoniously dragged away by a pissed off Svetlana, Mercedes drops her robe, takes a plunge, and immediately crawls back out again. Her lungs have constricted into tight knots, and she's begun to shake violently. Wrapping herself back up into her robe with numb figures, she can't understand why anyone would torture themselves in this way. Through the glass in the wall, she can see Svetlana methodically preparing the branches...oh, HELL no, she wasn't about to take a beating from some sadistic Russian chick. 

Looking at Kate, who now resembles an angry wet cat, and then at Billie, who...miracle of miracles...is somehow tolerating the water temperature and is still halfway submerged in the pool, she asks in what could be construed as a whiny voice,  

"Can we not just go get a drink?"

Kate stood damply glowering with fire in her eyes, like a jungle cat who'd fallen into an icy river.

"No. We're going to finish this. Billie_Faegan, get out of there. We're getting massages. Then we're a getting a drink. Then we're going to shoot Thomas."

Billie's eyes opened wide for a moment and her mouth opened.

"No. Not really.... maybe."

Billie dunked herself quickly. And the hustled out of the water, wringing her hair with her hands; standing in it was one thing, having it continue to drip down her back... yeah, nope. Snuggling into her robe, she smirked at Kate, "You know, it would be far more effective to tease him. I mean, he really thought he was gonna 'save' you." Billie snickered again, but it quickly turned to a much more derisive snort, "What the fuck is it with men anyway?"

Wow. That sounded personal. 

Realizing she may have said a little too much with out really saying anything at all, Billie pressed her lips together with an expression of 'ignore that', which of course really meant, 'dear god please don't ask because then you're going to make fun of ME.' Walking over to the wall, Billie rapped lightly on the glass, and tried not to giggle too loudly when Svetlana jumped like a scared kitten. From their vantage point in the pool room, they could all see as she nodded and held up one finger, motioning to.... something.... that apparently needed finishing before she could escort them out. 

Billie nodded and gave the woman a thumbs up, silently wondering to herself if the woman would understand it's significance, before turning and sliding down the wall to take a seat on floor near Kate's feet -- not unlike a house cat. 

Mercedes stares through the glass at Svetlana, legitimate fear crawling up her back. Her skin already hurt from the sandpaper and the ice...even the thought of someone breathing on her made her flinch inwardly. Looking over at Kate and Billie, she sighs. At the very least, they'd be bonded after this. The three of them would be card carrying members of the 'I Survived Svetlana' club. Maybe they could print up some t-shirts.

Dragging a hand through her frigid hair, she tries to distract herself with chitchat.

"So, Billie. Noto is your...manager? I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him."

Manager? There were a lot of words Billie could think of to describe John Noto. 'Manager' had never crossed her mind. She shot Kate a discreet look, mouthing the word.

"Uh... yeah. Something like that. I guess." she rubbed the back of her neck trying not to blush, which of course didn't really work, "I mean... we don't really have an official business arrangement or anything... yet..." that sounded odd, she thought to herself but pushed through it, "But he's been helping me arrange some shows outside the city so... I guess manager is a good word for it." She shrugged. 

About that time Svetlana appeared and beckoned them back the way they came. The women followed and were led into a dimly lit room with salt lamps and candles. Now this felt right. The far wall was covered in dense drapery, giving the room a soft, comfortable appearance. The room was narrow, but long, so that a number of massage beds could be arranged side by side. There were three there now; each carefully arranged with a small station off to one side, presumably for all of the things a masseuse would need. 

Svetlana allowed the women to filter in and pick a comfortable spot. Billie moved to the one closest to the door. Before she could say anything else a sheer-ish curtain was yanked closed, dividing her space from the next. It wasn't much, but just enough to provide a sense of modesty. So that's what the curtain wall was for.... Svetlana waited for KateLogan and Mercedes_Kompressor to take their places, befer pulling another curtain closed between the two. Svetlana instructed them to disrobe and lay down on their belly. She then moved quietly between the curtains, positioning and preparing each of the women. "Ve vill not be do-ink the traditional vetnik today, becauze theze two," she gestured at Kate and Billie, thought none of the women could see it "Are too Sovt. Inztead I have prepared the leaves and vill be use-ink and a modified application for the senzitive skin." 

Slowly she worked her way around to each of the ladies, laying long strips of what felt like damp paper across their legs, back and arms. It was an odd sensation... a little wet, a little sticky... a little warm, a little tingly... but is was nice all at the same time. They were allowed to marinate, as it were, for a few long moments before the leaf-paper was removed. Silently Sventlana poked her head out the door, saying something incoherent, and two other women entered the room. Massaging ensued, and it was heavenly. And when the backs were done, each woman rotated and received the same luscious treatment to the front of her upper chest, arm, and legs. 

Special attention was paid to the neck, hands, and feet, before the workers moved on to facials. Each person, of course, got a little different variation, but the the procedure was the same: exfoliate, cleanse, moisturize, massage. By the time the Russians were done with a final scalp and temple massage, Billie felt like she had melted into heaven. "I'm never leaving," she mumbled jokingly to whomever was on the other side of her curtain. 

Svetlana chuckled softly, her voice low and husky so as not to disturb the atmosphere. "I am pleased to her thiz," she whispered to Billie. To which the fiesty firecracker lazily replied, "Mhmm. I bet... you are." Svetlana simply shook her head andmoved to the door. She dimmed the electric lights as she did, leaving the women bathed in nothing but warm candlelight, and there was the sound of somthing aromatic being spritzed into the air, "Now you rezt. I vill be back when you are ready to go." 

With that she left the women to relax in peace. 

Kate had been a bit tense at first, left over from the adrenaline of the ice cold water. But she hadn't felt so satisfied and relaxed since... well, last night. But before that? It'd been a long, long time. The staff exited and left them to rest in the candlelight.

Kate Logan exhaled deeply, murmuring an inaudible question to Billie and Mercedes_Kompressor. Her head was on it's side, resting on one of her bent arms.

Then, ignoring every lesson her father had beaten into her, she slipped off to the deep, peaceful sleep of a child- something she hadn't experienced in the fifteen years since her mother's death. 

Mercedes opens her eyes with a start. Completely out of sorts, she looks around frantically as she reaches for a gun that isn't there. Where the hell was she?!?

Spotting Kate through a gauzy curtain to her right, she relaxes. Oh, yeah. The bathhouse. Turning her head to the left, she sees Billie on the other side, also lightly snoozing. All three of them had apparently dozed off. Must have been some massage. 

Replaying the events of the evening, she remembers a towel-clad Thomas skidding into the room like a knight in shining cotton. Barking laughter, she startles the other two women awake. Watching them go through the same frantic first moments that she did, she laughs even harder. 

"You're safe, ladies. We're at the bathhouse. Svetlana's House of Horrors. Wanna go get that drink now?"

Kate wakes with a frantic start, nearly rolling over the massage table. Looking around, she noticed Billie had left, although Mercedes had said "ladies". Perhaps Mercedes_Kompressor was still a bit out of things. Stretching and slipping her robe back on, Kate walked through the curtain between her and Mercedes.

"And here I thought you were going to wake me up all sweet-like. Not that your maniacal laughter isn't sweet. Want to get dressed and get out of here?"

"What, and risk getting shot in the face? No Ma'am," she says, sitting up and donning her robe with a silly smile on her face. 

"Some of that experience...wasn't...terrible. But yes, I'm ready to go before Svetlana comes back with power tools or something," she adds. Noting that Billie has up and disapperared, she reaches up and touches Kate's cheek. It is as smooth as ever, and she looks refreshed, like the last five years have simply washed away.

"You needed this. I'm glad you took the time for it," she says, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on Kate's mouth.

Even her lips were softer.

Kate had the somewhat strange experience of smiling during a kiss. Normally if she were kissing someone simple happiness wasn't really a primary emotion. More... well, it'd probably be better if she shut down that line of thinking.

Kate returned the kiss for a few moments before leaning back.

"No, you're right. Let's grab our stuff and head out of here. I'll send Mikhail a thank you note later- and I'll have him charge Thomas for everything you, Billie, and I did..."

Grinning, they headed back to the changing room- and then to the streets of Detroit.