12810/No Deal

No Deal
Date of Scene:	08 March 2021
Location:	East Park Side (Crime Alley), Old Gotham
Synopsis:	Batman investigates a suspicious building, and finds a rather unusual stash.
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Batman

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Shredder has posed:
    The old apartment building has been empty for over a year. Condemned originally, nobody has seen to its destruction. When billionare Bruce Wayne offered to buy it, though, oddly, there was a hard rejection. No way no how. Despite the philanthropist's clout, the buyer won't even entertain the conversation, and has met every approach with a wall.

    EastSide Park is the name of the building, and here on the cloudy Mach night, it stands like a bleak testimony to despair. Nothing interesting, nothing remarkable. It is as boring a building as there ever was. Why someone would cling to it so fiercely might seem odd. The owner, while she seems to be a bit sleazy, has no record of criminal activities, and has a few such operations throughout town, though the other two properties still have tennants.

Batman has posed:
Normally, Bruce Wayne has no problem taking 'no' for an answer, but this particular building has caught his attention and set off a few red flags. The other owners in the area had no problem taking such 'lucrative' offers and kickbacks such as improving the area, installing a playground and ensuring housing is affordable and fair so not to force the poverty stricken residents out. This was about improving the quality of life for Gotham residents.

So, when this particular owner refused to sell, he decided he would take a peek personally. If anything, he goes home assured that there is no wrong doing. Not everyone is in love with the long and storied history of the Wayne family.

There is a flutter of a cape as he lands on the roof silently, rising upwards slowly like a shadow in the night. The eyes of his mask gleam as he moves towards the roof's entrance slowly, fishing out a small pocket light from his utility belt. Once he reaches the door, if there is any type of lock, it would be quickly dealt with before descending down into the building.

Shredder has posed:
    The old lock seems stuck, difficult to pick not because of any advancement in technology, but because it's rusted shut. The door itself, though, isn't hung correctly any more, and a simple kick is enough to shake it free without any real damage to the mechnism. The descent of course is dark, the stairs covered with dirt and debris from a long time back. There's a distinct smell that is immediately evident. It smells like mulch and manuer. The walls show evidence of gang tagging.

Batman has posed:
There is a flicker within the eyes of Batman's mask as he turns on 'night vision' so that he can see easier. The lens is now a glowing green as he makes his way down the stairs towards the next floor. "Alfred, analyze any heat signatures that you may find. If there is residents living here, I'd like to know a head count." He says in his low, guttural voice barely above a whisper.

"Right away, sir."

As he scans the hallway, the lens built into the mask is creating a 3D blueprint for Alfred back home, creating a fully immersed digital construct.

Shredder has posed:
    The scan comes back, and...there's plenty of heat. Inside the building it's a bit warmer, perhaps the heat controls are on. But the heat signature is...not humanoid. It's large. taking up almost half of the building, much hotter than human temperature.

    The area seems abandoned for the most part, still. No signs of people moving about. There's a tag of the Purple Dragon Gang from NYC present. Odd, since they don't have any real territory of their own in Gotham.

Batman has posed:
Furrowing his brow under his mask, Batman takes his grappling hook and fires it upwards into the ceiling, then attaches it to his belt. With a leap over the stair railing, he zips all the way down towards the bottom floor before he detaches himself. With a tug of his hand, the grappling hook zips back to his gun like a tape measure snapping back.

As he scans the area and tilts his head back upwards, he presses his lips tightly together. "Where is the heat coming from?" He rasps out with a throat full of gravel as he starts through the building again. "Scan for signs of radiation, chemical leaks. Give me a full analysis."

"Very well, sir."

He reaches to his wrist and taps a control panel to begin the analysis as sensors built into the suit 'test' the environment as he heads towards the apex of the heat signature.

Shredder has posed:
    The scans come up empty, though it is warmer on the first level of the building, a certain ambient warmth to it. The air is stale and heavy, the smell of mulch is strong, mixed with a difficult to discern sweet putrid scent.

    No chemical leaks. No radiation. It's hardly unbearable, the warmth, but for a building that has no power, it should be colder. Most people would likely not think anything of the difference, but surely the world's greatest detective would notice.

Batman has posed:
As he travels through the building, Batman keeps a low profile through the shadows as he continues to search from room to room. He takes his time to explore, trying to find anything that may be generating heat or electricity. Maybe someone dragged an extension cord from the next building over and they're using a few heaters.

That is plausible after all.

If he comes up empty, he will make his way for a basement or storage area. Apartment buildings have such a room to store supplies, electrical units, pipes. Down into the depths he will go.

Shredder has posed:
    No electrical cords, or electrical signals of any sort are showing. A very curious situation. A few of the lower level rooms look like they have been used recently. There is blood spatters on a wall, consistent with what might be from the swing of a sword, but unfortunately, they used ammonia, any attempt to identify the blood would be in vain. A tipped chair.

    The scattered bottles and other litter in the hall increase as the parking garage is reached, and the attached storage in the basement. Tracks spaced for a large pickup truck back up to one of the storage units. It seems to be the source of the heat signature.

Batman has posed:
A sample of blood is taken regardless. Batman may or may not make it work, but the pictures he takes will ensure that Commission Gordon will take a keen interest in the building. He takes a few moments to telegraph the situation as he looks at the blood splattered on the wall. Every fight is like a dance, regardless of the outcome.

As the detective continues on through the building into the parking garage, he makes his way towards the storage units. He keeps his head on a bit of a swivel as his glowing green eyes through his mask searches the shadows, the ceiling, then corners.

Once he stops before the storage units, he looks to open them. If there is a lock on it, it will be removed with force.

"Call it in." He rumbles in a gravely voice.

"Very well, sir."

Gordon will get a message from an encrypted number. One that they are both familiar with. An address and photos uploaded.

Shredder has posed:
    Unlike the lock on the roof, this one is in much better condition. It takes several kicks for a door of this strength. It's a solid metal door with a dead bolt. When it finally has had enough punishment, the massive secret is revealed!

    It's a pile of mulch. A very big one. It looks as if the walls have been knocked out of several of the surrounding units to make one large unit. An odd reason to hold onto a building, to store mulch in the parking garage. It's very warm in this room, as if it were a sweltering desert, and the smell that pervades the building is almost suffocating in here, making it hard to breathe. But why is there mulch? The pile is large, and it's easy to see why the heat signature is so large.

Batman has posed:
The Batman has smelled worse things in his life than mulch, but it still makes him wince beneath his mask. It's not pleasant. He gives a glance around, pointing his small hand light into the unit. After clicking it off, he scoops up a sample which is quickly analyzed and sent over to the Batcave where Alfred can begin to break it down. He will do a deeper dive later.

As he steps away from the storage unit, he searches through the rest of the parking garage next if the unit shows nothing else of interest. If there is any footprints to be found, he'll take pictures. The car tracks are snapped up as well.

Shredder has posed:
    It appears that really, the only thing in the building of note is an old chair, a blood spatter, and a giant pile of mulch. A single handful of which...well, it's just mulch, decomposed organic material. Why is it here? It looks like it's been used, there's signs in the pile that it has been dug into recently, possibly to load the truck that is has come and gone.

    In the room, the only other thing present is a large pitch fork, and a coal shovel.

Batman has posed:
After a quick search of the building, Batman returns to the pile of mulch, snagging the shovel along the way in one hand and the pitchfork in the other. By now, he has attached a small breathing aparatus to the front of his mask. The type to filter and purify air. It will at least make breathing for him easier while he does a bit of treasure hunting.

He steps inside, taking the shover to the pile where it appears to have been more fresh and recent. He won't so much as throw the mulch out behind him, but shift it around to see what is below the surface and a few feet below. He will continue to analyze and record as he goes.

As a detective, he knows what this could be used for, but if there is 'any' evidence he can find and provide for Gordon, the better. Who knows when Harvey may make his way out here by the time he is done polishing his bag of donuts.

Shredder has posed:
    It's a good thing that Batman decided to put on his breathing apparatus, because the horrid smell is stirred by such actions, making it even more fierce. Sifting through the pile, some things in it are a gel now, whatever it was now but a brownish reddish goop. And...a scrap of jeans. They would break down a little slower due to some of the material being a little more synthetic. It looks like it was once a pair of pants, or a denim jacket.

Batman has posed:
As he digs, Batman will take samples of the goop, as well as tugging out the denim and lobbing it behind him on the ground behind him. He gives a visible frown behind his mask and then steps out if he does not find anything else after digging around.

"Tell Gordon to come over here, now." He says with a low growl in his voice as irritation creeps up into his throat.

With that, he finishes documenting the scene, then settles in to wait for his long time ally to arrive, hopefully soon with a team that can specialize in situations such as this. Nothing is impossible. That much he knows.