Kathryn pulled up to Lake Mead Manor in her new black Mercedes. She'd driven one out to New Orleans, but had had to burn it as a precaution. This one, she hoped, would be a longer commitment. Kathryn listened to the rumble of the engine for a few moments before shutting it down and stepping out of the car. She slipped the car key into the front pocket of her jeans, feeling her arm press against the bulge in the right pocket of her leather jacket. At first, she'd kept her purse in her gun, but now she liked to feel it against her. Perhaps it was the fact that she'd practiced enough to feel confident in using it.

Kathryn leaned on the hood of the car, staring up at the house. It was strange to think of Merci with a kid. For someone unemotional, things were certainly getting complicated. Maybe this kid was just guilt coming home to roost. Or maybe Merci was changing. Kathryn pursed her lips together as she felt the smooth body of the car beneath her. Maybe she shouldn't be here at all. Maybe she should just treat Merci like a friend, like a colleague, and move the fuck on. 

She stood out there for a while, leaning against the car. She'd had Jack call ahead and let Merci know she was coming, so she could prepare... a babysitter or whatever. If that was even a thing she needed. So if she just got back in the car and left, Merci would know she chickened it. More importantly, she didn't want to walk away.

Starting today, she was Kathryn Fucking Renford. 

She walked up briskly and knocked on the door. Hard.

Merci pulls the heavy door open, and smiles at Kathryn standing there. 

"C'mon in. You should see where some of your money went, and where a ton of it will be coming from. Oh, and this is Charlie, our young up and coming associate. Charlie, this is Kathryn," she says, stepping aside a little more so the young man can greet the guest. He's obviously heard quite a bit about Aunt Katie, because he stammers a bit, and his cheek are flushed.

"H-Hello Miss Kathryn. Very pleased to make your acquaintance," he says, instantly enamored with the beautiful woman in power. He shakes her hand politely, then starts to step backwards, nearly tripping over his own feet. With an embarrassed laugh, he excuses himself and retreats to the kitchen, where one of Merci's bodyguards is trying to learn to make his favorite cookies.

"There's an exterior access where Caesar's men come and go, but he's got them producing moonshine in the cellar. Out of...well, it's convoluted and somewhat nasty, kinda like Augustus himself, but it's brilliant, actually. The trash from one business venture becomes the treasure for another. Oh, and look," she says, guiding Kathryn into the living room and drawing back the curtains of the bay window which looks out on...a huge expanse of nothing.

"A horse race track. Right over there. That's what he wants to do next," she says, shaking her head a bit. 

"He's going to make you millions,"she murmurs quietly.

Kathryn smiles at Charlie, hoping to reassure him, before she follows Merci around the house. Listening to these plans certainly raised her eyebrows. 

"Well this is certainly very impressive. Caesar is obviously earning his left hand position."

She looks out the window, quiet for a moment as she looks at the afternoon sun hitting the grass.

"Do you think we could maybe go for a drive? Talk for a bit, just us, and make sure we're not interrupted by anything? I've got a couple things to show you. If you're busy with all this here, I'd certainly understand..."

"No, sounds good! Charlie's in good hands," she says, checking her Magnum as most women would check their lipstick or hair. As they step outside, she's floored a bit by the fact that both Kathryn and Augustus were driving a Mercedes nowadays. Maybe she should get one, since it was her name. As it stood, she hadn't even bothered to get her own car yet. Something she intended to remedy the next time she saw Sam.

Kathryn walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat, slightly warmed from the sun. Merci sat down and, as soon as the door closed, the car lurched forward. Kathryn frowned.

"Sorry... still getting the hang of this thing. Lots of power here."

She reached into her jacket pocket and removed her gun; leaning towards Merci, she closed it into the glove-box.

"Thanks for this, by the way.... if I'm being honest, I've kind of missed you. I know you've got so much going on with so many different people- and I know I just totally dropped off the map, but... yea.  So I thought we could do something fun. Talk for a while about some things. Professional. Not so professional. You know. Have some fun. Just you and me- the original RP Inc."

As the car hit the desert highway and accelerated, Kathryn grinned and the wind from the open window blew her hair back.

Merci twisted her hair into a knot and rolled her window down as well. Smiling, she let the wind play through her fingers. It was nice out here...desolate, but sometimes the buzz of the Strip got to be too much for the senses and you had to get away. She pulled a flask out of her pocket and passed it to Kathryn.

"Moonshine. First test batch is already done," she says, winking.

Kathryn looked at Merci with a tilted head and wry grin.

"I had a bottle of wine in the back, but you always do need to show me up, uh? Yu know I'm not exactly a heavyweight when it comes to holding my liquor..."

Suddenly she thought of John and a shadow passed over her face. Merci seemed to mirror her thought process. Kathryn gripped the wheel with her left hand as she tipped the flask back. It burned... but it was a good burn. She smiled.

"You might need to drive back. And that's delicious, by the way. Should make a fortune on that stuff."

With a smile, Merci tilts the flask back herself.

"I had an idea. Stop me if it sounds terrible, but what if you soaked fruit in it? Like blackberries. Cherries. What's your favorite fruit? I'm thinking of trying green olives..." She says, the smile spreading to a large grin.

"You? Olives? I'm shocked. I'm pretty boring; apple for me. Although that could work. Forbidden fruit, right? Could be fun."

The sun had reached the hour between the afternoon and evening where it bathed everything in a golden light. Kathryn glanced over at Merci and grinned as she pulled the bottle back, with the sun lightening her hair. She took another swig.

"So how's Charlie? Seems to be doing better, thanks to you."

"I think he'll be okay. I need to talk to Grace, but he seems alright. He was so thin and pale when I first saw him...I think he looks a lot better, and he seems pretty happy. I really like him. A lot," she runs her hands over her face, hard, clearly frustrated with herself. 

"I don't know why I can't just say it. I love him. If he agrees to it, I'd like to arrange an official adoption. I know I'm not the ideal parent by a long shot, but I know I'm doing better than that piece of shit mother he had," she says, exhaling loudly. She drinks again from the flask before turning to Kathryn.

"How are you? The arm. The Moreau situation. John. What's going on in that pretty head of yours these days? There was a time I could read your thoughts clearly, but I'm running into a barrier now," she says, studying Kathryn's profile as she drove.

Kathryn listened to Merci as the sands and grasses on the side of the road passed them by.

"I'm glad you found each other. I think he'll be good for you. You had me pretty worried about you for a while there, when things were bad. If you need help with the courts, making the paperwork happen... just let me know."

Kathryn frowned as Merci mentioned a barrier.

"I know what you mean. I've felt kind of... cut off from you. Nothing for you to feel guilty about, of course- but with all the stuff with Augustus and Sam and this and that and your thousand business adventures. Not to mention me disappearing and then all this stuff from the past I've been processing. Just hard keeping up with you, I guess. But I'd like to think I'm up for the challenge moving forward."

She grinned and stuck her arm out the window, but couldn't quite raise it past an even level with her shoulder.

"Arm's good. Well, at least for the most part. Grace did good work, but it just stops bending at one point. Moreau situation is half done, and I plan to finish the other half soon. With help- no more solo trips. When that's done, I think I'll feel like a weight's off me, ya know? Or Moreau'll slaughter me and I won't need to worry about it anymore. John? Well. Not sure I'll ever get over that one. They don't make many like him."

She let the silence dwell for a moment before speaking again.

"And, for the record, if I'm throwing up a barrier I'm sorry. I don't mind being honest with you in saying that the recent past hasn't been kind to me. The injury. The Moreau thing. Our discussion on the roof. Just seemed like things weren't going my way for a while. But now I'm just kind of going with it. Take whatever life gives me and try to hold on for the ride as long as I can. I dunno. Does that make sense? Like... I obviously care about my friends, my crew, my work. But I also feel like I'm different after that New Orleans trip. Less vulnerable. More ready to live with whatever life throws at me and more ready to die if my number's up."

She took a third pull from the flask, a longer one this time, although she kept the wheel steady.

"Not that I'm in any rush to die. We'll be there soon. And when we get there, a good buzz would be fitting for me. I like a challenge."

Merci raises an eyebrow.

"Do you have a destination in mind, or are we simply out for a cruise?" She asked. 

Kathryn smiled.

"Oh, I've got a place. We're almost there. Do you have to be back a certain time?"

"Not really. Just curious," she answers, watching the flat, dry earth race by. 

It was quiet for a couple minutes as they just drove and watched the desert; eventually, Kathryn slowed down and took a slow, ponderous turn off the highway onto a dirt road that most people drove past without noticing. As Kathryn guided the car over the bare ground, it was obvious that they were headed for a small hill. It was mostly covered in grass, with a couple dead trees  and rocks at the top. Kathryn grabbed her gun from the glovebox and a bag from the backseat. After a couple minutes they were at the top, with the road dimly visible in the distance, but with a deep, abiding silence and emptiness dominating the landscape. When Merci turned around she noticed Kathryn setting up empty beer bottles on a flat stone.

Standing, she grinned.

"I've been practicing. A lot. Feeling lucky? I'd be willing to make a wager, if you can think of something to make it more interesting..."

Merci purses her lips.

"How about a million dollars?"

Kathryn sighs dramatically.

"Oh. I suppose that'd be fine. Six bottles each on a quickdraw. We'll shoot from... over there."

She points to the opposite end of the hill, a good but not impossible distance away.

Merci quirks a half-drunk smile and begins the walk to the other side of the hill. If she had her rifle, this wouldn't even be a contest, but she wasn't as proficient with her Magnum, particularly at a distance. As they approach the area they'll be shooting from, they decide Kathryn will go first.

Merci watches as she expertly checks her .357, aims, and fires. The sound of glass exploding brings a smile to her face as she aims and fires again. And again. Each round removes a target, save for the last one. It's impressive work though, and Merci smiles and congratulates her for taking out 5 of the 6.

Stepping up, it's her turn. She aims and fires six quickly successive rounds, with only a slight adjustment of her arms between each. All six bottles are gone, and as an afterthought, she asks for Kathryn's .38 Special after reholstering her own, and takes out her last bottle, as well. Handing the gun back with a grin, she listens as Kathryn mumbles something about Merci being a show-off, and Merci mutters something in return about making sure Kathryn got her money's worth. As they walk back to Kathryn's car in the fading afternoon light, Merci speaks.

"I need a new skillset if you're going to show me up in the few things I can actually do well," she says, pulling out the flask and taking a sip before passing it to Kathryn. They lean against the car and watch the sun descend in the pink sky towards the west.

It really was pretty out here, if you just looked up.

Kathryn accepted the flask with a sardonic grin.

"Showing you up implies beating you. Guess I need more practice."

She took a long drink from it before crossing her arms and leaning back against the hood. The metal of the car was pleasantly warm without burning; Kathryn slid off her leather jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her white buttoned down shirt. She frowned at the pink sky for a few silent moments, breathing deeply, before pushing herself off the car and turning to stand in front of Merci. Wordlessly, she reached forward- her right hand sliding through Merci's hair to rest behind her neck and her left hand resting on Merci's hip- and leaned in for a kiss.

It was somehow both gentle and electric, passionate but unassuming. Kathryn's lips had been warmed by the setting sun and, suddenly, she felt the heat within her grow as well as she pulled Merci forward against her body. After a few moments her tongue, arms, and body pulled back and she stood in front of Merci with her hands in her back pockets, smiling.

"I would never forgive myself if I didn't do that at least once. We can head back now, if you want."

She grinned.

"Or we can stay here. What happens in the desert stays in the desert, you know. Nothing complicated. I promise."

After a moment of paralysis, Merci responds to the kiss, then stumbles forward as Kathryn pulls away.

Smooth.

Clearing her throat with another sip of moonshine, she answers.

"I should try to be back before dark. Charlie's making a meatloaf," she says with a grin. "The kid can cook. You should join us," she adds.