A meeting takes place

(A collaboration between Phantom23 and myself. We hope you enjoy)

Susan noticed Walter and grinned. "Mr. Stark, hope your enjoying your room, was there anything you needed?" The man turned and he was around his early 20s.

"So this is the big spender for the night?" The young man asked Susan who nodded. "Yes sir."

Walt smiled and shook the hand of the younger handsome man with the sharp eyes.

*Reminds me a bit of myself at his age*

"Hello there. I'm Walter Stark. Please just call me Walt. Sorry for any trouble or inconvenience our party may have caused you all tonight."

Turning to Susan he smiled and nodded. "Actually there was, Susan. I have a bag here with a change of clothes for Penny. They already checked it at the door but told me to make sure you knew that and had an opportunity to check it for yourselves. I was also wondering if there was a way I could get my laundry taken care of? I have a business meeting in the morning and hadn't really planned this impromptu stay, I'm afraid."

The man grinned. "Ethan Kenway, manager of the SHH." Ethan introduced himself, when Walt made his request Ethan smiled.

"We can have that handled, we'll have someone drop by and pick up your laundry and have it done in a jiffy." Ethan offered.

Walt smiled. "Thank you that's very considerate and accommodating of you. You know this is quite the place you have here. The staff especially really impressed me! Most of them really seem to enjoy both parts of their jobs and that says a lot about how a place is run. You're doing good work here, Ethan."

Walt slapped his forehead. "Where's my head at? I should give you my card." Reaching into his pocket he handed Ethan one of his cards and scribbled his direct line on the back. "I doubt you all would need our services but if anything ever comes up please do reach out. The number on the back will put you in touch with either me or my personal assistant, Friday."

Walt chuckled. "She pretty much runs my life these days, or at least she seems to think so."

"Thanks I'll keep that in mind." Ethan took the card. "We try and make sure the girls enjoy their work and have fun, some even have regulars to keep coming back, the attitude and willingness to work keeps this place running." Ethan explained

"I'm not surprised. They've been great and really gone the extra mile for us and made our experience..." Walt thought about how best to sum it up in words."... uniquely, memorable with a surprisingly caring, personal touch? Yeah, that sounds accurate."

He took a pull from his beer and chuckled. "Though to be honest we thought it was just a special restaurant at first. The fault was mine. Had no idea about how much of a difference there was in the 'after' hours. It was quite eye opening but also good."

"We basically are a package deal so to speak." Ethan drank from his glass, "Lots of the girls were hesitant about working the night shift, we don't really **** them, just let them do the day shift, some have to because we need the workers, Susan keeps them in line when I'm not around." He explained.

"E!!!" Mina Ashido came by in her blue leopard print hero costume with a beige coat and fur collar, she hugged him. "You don't visit enough!"

Ethan blushed a bit and gave Walter an apologetic look. "Dealing with a customer Mina..." He told her, Mina blinked and looked at Walter. "Oh... Sorry sir." She turned to Ethan. "Visit me?" She pouts.

"Don't you have work to do." Susan narrowed her eyes making Mina freeze. "GOTTAGOBYE!" Mina raced off.

"... Sorry, some of the girls here are clingy to me.." Ethan chuckled nervously

Walt smiled at the personal display. "Please Miss. It's no trouble at all."

Watching her go and listening to Ethan he chuckled.

"Nothing at all to apologize for! I was a young man in love once, so I like seeing that sort of thing myself. Clingy is certainly one way to put it but clingy ain't all bad. I'd also call that devotion which is itself a kind of love. And there's plenty worse things than clingy, spunky and devoted."

"She's devoted alright, she also enjoys dancing on the pole." Ethan told him smiling in pride.

"She also slacks off on waitress duty ..." Susan drawled.

"Not that bad." Ethan chuckles. "But still, you have to admit, it's lively with the characters... Although I warn you." Ethan's expression turned serious. "If you run into a Yelena Balova, steer clear, she has a record for seducing and... Topping most of the customers." Ethan muttered.

Walt heard the warning and his mind flashed back to some of his run ins on previous missions with various ladies who put extra emphasis on the fatale in the phrase 'Femme Fatale'. He still had some of the scars to remember them by. He had even recognized one of them here earlier cracking her whip. It probably was a different version of her but still.... Anyway he made sure to add Yelena to that particular list.

"Duly noted," he said with all seriousness.

Looking around though Ethan was right. The place was lively and it was mostly due to the characters making it so. They were exciting and most of them seemed to thrive on pumping up the crowd and whipping them into a frenzy.

"I used to wonder if the characters are like that naturally because they're still performing or entertaining for us even after being taken out of their worlds?" He shrugged finishing his beer. "Just something a colleague of mine used to speculate on longtime ago. Pay it no mind. I should know better than to wax philosophical at bars at my age."

"Some of these girls do like seeing people smile, others prefer helping other and others prefer fighting... I took home a Mirko and she was a fighters... So I had her join the Character Battle Arena." Ethan explained. "Best decision I made for her, she's happy."

Walt raised an eyebrow. "Oh is that a fact? Well maybe you will find you have need of our services after all. We help train warriors, amongst others, of all types and skill levels. From the greenest rookies to the most hardened veterans. Including arena fighters. We can probably accommodate any needs you or your perspective champion may have."

Walt shrugged. "I was training some potential contenders myself for a client for the upcoming "mass" battle leagues they're trying to get off the ground." He smirked. "They claim they're stalling for safety concerns but I think it's space issues of where to hold them. I offered them a reasonable price for renting our training grounds and that they could televise but no. I'm half tempted to build the stadium they want and then charge them for the use but that's a just a tad outside our usual areas of expertise and worse I might actually have to deal with our board members for a project that massive and they're such pains."

"Haha maybe, I'm just doing it to let her have fun." Ethan hummed at his words. "Well if it's space maybe you could do it on one of the planets but considering it's mostly used up like the moon and mars... But besides that, I'm sure my Mirko is happy where she is right now and I don't have any girls who need training." Ethan looked behind Walt.

Yor Brair, a beautiful woman wearing a black dress and had her weapons in hand. "Meet Yor, my bodyguard, also my **** but that's in closed doors." Yor bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Walt chuckled. "Well if they won't deal with me than you've probably accurately assessed their limited options. Well time will tell."

"As for your fighter or any others in your house or employ, whether they might need instruction, training facilities or gear, the offer stands."

Walt's instincts had already picked up someone approaching them with a high level of expertise. He might be old but he hadn't yet lost a step of his training. He knew what she was capable of just as surely as she could sense the same in him.

Walt smiled and bowed equally as low to show his respect and that he honestly intended no threat.

"Walter Stark. The pleasure is all mine, dear lady."

"I'll think on it and let you know." Ethan nodded.

Yor looked at the bar but Ethan gave her a look. "No, you can't, don't ask." Ethan told her. "But I've been practicing ..."

"And Sakura had to heal up Harley after your drunk spar.." Ethan said blandly. He turned to Walter. "I gotta go, nice meeting you." He offered his hand to shake.

Walt took Ethans hand and clasped it.

"I should really get back to checking on the girls myself. It was a pleasure, Ethan. Thank you for such a nice welcome and a pleasant chat."

He once again bowed to Yor and since it would have looked odd to to do otherwise gave a similar bow to Susan. "Ladies, it was a pleasure." And proceeded back down the hall to their room.