Thrill Seekers

The chase was an absolute joy for Felicia. She utterly loved it, especially when the pursuer was someone she wanted to catch her. Linda, on the other hand, was fully enjoying her role in the chase -- this was a test of her skills against a master, and she was learning more than she realized in the process.

She was gaining on Felicia, little by little. Felicia would occasionally look over her shoulder and smile, clearly enjoying being chased and watching Linda's progress. The chase eventually led them to a construction site, with a skeletal framework of what would soon become a luxury apartment complex. Unfortunately for Felicia, this was where the chase came to a screeching halt. Even more frustratingly, it wasn't Linda who brought the chase to an end; it was a group of thugs whom Felicia had crossed several times in the past... and they were obviously there for her.

"Shit..." Felicia cursed under her breath as she realized that she was now cornered.

"Surprised to see us, Hardy?" The lead thug smirked. "The boss is tired of your little mindgames. Now we gotta bring you in... and trust me, it's gonna hurt."

"Aww, Hammer's mad at me? My feelings are so hurt," Felicia mocked. "I wish I could apologize, but it's not my fault he's such an easy mark. Now kindly run along, boys... and tell your boss to stop sending such ugly hired muscle after me."

This only further angered the thugs, who angrily closed in on her. Before the hulking leader could strike, however, a rope cut through the air and bound the man's legs, and a graceful shadow leapt from the steel beams above into the center of the group, sending one of the thugs flying with a swift roundhouse kick while yanking the leader off balance. Meanwhile, Felicia had unsheathed her claws and with a few swipes had given her would be attackers some nasty wounds.

The two women ended up making short work of the thugs; Felicia even found herself pausing just to watch Linda's movements, sexy and tough, Felicia thought to herself. I'm a lucky girl. Finally, the last thug standing decided the pay wasn't good enough and fled, disappearing into the construction site.

Felicia turned to Linda with a grin. "Wow. You're even more fun than I thought," she said. "Maybe I should just let you catch me... I'd even let you tie me up and 'interrogate' me."

Linda blushed at the comment. A seductive thief talking dirty wasn't something she'd prepared for, but she had so many questions, and she wasn't about to get flustered now. "I... don't think that'll be necessary, Miss Hardy. But I do want answers."

"Well, I did say if you caught me, I'd let you know more about me," Felicia said with a sly smile. "Though I'd prefer to do it over a candlelit dinner."

"Maybe some other time," Linda answered dismissively. "So, who were those guys?" she asked, gesturing in the direction the last thug had fled. "Friends of yours?"

"My adoring fans," Felicia replied with a wave of her hand. "Just some hired goons working for a former client who tried to stiff me on a payment... so I decided to help myself to a little extra compensation."

"A little extra?" Linda asked, her eyebrow raised.

"OK, I may have made off with most of his art collection," Felicia admitted. "He had a lot of money wrapped up in those paintings. Enough to cover my fee... and then some."

"Fair enough," Linda said back. "Is there any connection between these guys and whatever you're doing here in LA?"

"I guess it's possible? It's more likely that they were sent after me because their boss really, really doesn't like me, but there's always a chance. You think they're connected?" Felicia asked, her interest genuinely piqued.

Linda considered the question. "You'd know better than I would. You usually work out of New York, right? How long have these guys been following you?" she asked, her voice steady and professional.

Felicia let out a sigh, the playfulness in her eyes replaced by a flicker of genuine annoyance. "Since I got to town. Which is... suspicious. I'm usually pretty good at covering my tracks, so now I have to figure out where I might have fucked up... and I still have a job to do."

"Which is stealing old movie props," Linda stated, not as a question but as a fact.

"That's right," Felicia admitted. "I'd love to tell you more about that -- I really would -- but that'd violate client confidentiality."

Linda nodded, her face still stoic. "I understand. Honor among thieves and all that," she said, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"See? You get it!" Felicia answered teasingly. "So, what are you going to do with me now?"

Linda shrugged."I don't know. There's obviously more to all this than you simply stealing movie props for some collector, and I'm probably not going to figure it out if I hand you over to authorities."

"Smart girl," Felicia said approvingly. "Still, you'd have to catch me first."

"Don't think I'm about to just let you go, either," Linda continued, still maintaining her business-like demeanor. "I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on you."

Felicia's grin returned, even wider than before. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said playfully, stepping closer to Linda. She then froze for a moment, looking at Linda's masked face as if she knew her from somewhere else, but couldn't quite place it. The thief's eyes then narrowed as the looked at the redhead. It finally clicked for her where she'd seen her before -- on the big screen. And the small screen. She was an actress!

"Hold on... I finally remember where I've seen you before. You're the hot redhead from 'Southern Discomfort'... I love that show! You're Linda Turner!"

Linda nodded in confirmation. "You got me," she conceded.

"Holy shit... you're amazing!" Felicia gushed, completely forgetting about her chase. "I stopped watching that show after you left. You then seemed to drop off the face of the earth after that -- is this what you left acting for?"

Linda looked slightly amused by Felicia's sudden fangirl turn. "Yeah, I guess so," she admitted. "As it turns out, I'm really, really good at this vigilante detective thing. It's more exciting than the showbiz thing ever was."

Felicia couldn't hide her grin. As if her crush on Linda Turner couldn't get any bigger, she turns out the be a thrill seeker, just like herself. And now, she's a vigilante.

"Wow. You left the acting business to become a vigilante? I gotta admit, my mind's kinda blown. You're so good. You could've been huge!" Felicia said, still unable to wipe the grin from her face.

Linda blushed slightly. She had indeed been getting increasingly lucrative offers from other studios, but after she managed to bust a lofty Hollywood executive's casting couch operation (during which she'd donned the Black Cat mask and costume for the first time), she realized she preferred the satisfaction of uncovering the corrupt and bringing them to justice. And, of course, the adrenaline rush that came with the vigilante life didn't hurt, either... "You know, I think we'd make a great team. I'd be a very valuable informant to someone like you... and now I'm DYING to get to know you better."

"I'm sure you are," Linda said back, still trying to maintain her composure. She'd stumbled into some kind of case here, and it looks like it was going to be an exciting one. Still, she didn't want Felicia to notice her growing enthusiasm. The stoic vigilante act was harder than it looked... but Linda was a damn good actress."Prove to me that I can trust you, first."

"Looking forward to it," Felicia responded mischievously. "I'll be in touch."

Linda watched as the sexy thief disappeared into the the shadows, wondering what she'd gotten herself into -- and she had to admit to herself, this other Black Cat intrigued her (even if she wasn't the original). She hadn't quite figured her out yet, nor did she know where this case was headed, but she was excited to find out.