(no subject)

This, he thinks, has to be a decent bachelorette party.

Maybe not for the average bride, maybe other people out there want strippers and sashes that read BRIDE-TO-BE and phallic decorations, but Peggy had made it very clear to John that she wanted none of that.

So he'd rented out a bar. An entire bar. The guest list isn't particularly extensive, they don't need the entire bar, but he'd seen no reason not to do it anyway. It means they have the entire place to themselves, they can control the music, and the bartender has only them to serve. And John has paid a flat fee for the bartender and the serving staff, plus given them a significant tip, so they're attending the party perfectly.

The bar is nice, with comfortable chairs and several pool tables, as well as a well stocked jukebox that he thinks has just about anything someone might think to play. Maybe not Dutch, she probably knows songs none of them have ever heard before, but there's probably plenty on the jukebox she'll still enjoy.

There are appetizers, lots of them, covering just about any option a person could want. The same goes for alcohol.

All in all, for someone not all that inclined toward attending parties, he thinks he's done a fairly good job capturing something Peggy will enjoy. And that's the point of tonight, giving her a party to celebrate her future and everything that's to come with people she enjoys spending time with.

(no subject)

They've gotten good at this and John has to admit, it feels good to have a partner in crime, so to speak.

Technically they're doing the opposite of crime. Their methods aren't always legal, admittedly, but neither of them have a problem with that, and the end result is always what it should be. Together, they put bad guys away. And John loves every moment of it.

There are times, of course, when he's concerned for Karen's safety. He would have to be crazy not to worry about her when there's the possibility of bullets flying, but she's proven time and again just how resourceful she is. And he worries about her less than he would have expected. In fact, he tends to feel safer when Karen is with him. She's a reminder of how much he's changed, how much his life has changed, and a reminder of what Carter had told him was worth fighting for.

Tonight it's not the simple surveillance it usually is for them. They have a tendency to go out for dinners just to put themselves close to the right people, to overhear the right conversations or clone the right phones. Tonight they're both dressed in black, moving quietly through an alley, because John wants to check out a local building he's been hearing rumours about.

He'd like to get inside, but tonight, the primary focus is figuring out what kind of security they're facing.

"I've heard a lot of talk about this place," he says, keeping his voice low as they walk. "As a place to move drugs and weapons mostly, but there could be more going on. There almost always is." He doubts he needs to tell Karen that sort of thing, she's seen plenty of it herself.