10455/Jewels and Mobs

Jewels and Mobs
Date of Scene:	16 December 2019
Location:	Queens Center Mall, Jackson Heights
Synopsis:	Kate Bishop and Kory stop a robber before he does anytihng - who the Punisher was stalking out. Bishop and Punisher got in an argument, and Kory just doesn't get it.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Bishop), Starfire, Punisher

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Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Mall fashion isn't exactly Kate's typical cup of tea. She tends to go for the high end designers, get things custom, that sort of thing. But she needs gear for going undercover, doing that detective life, and that means dressing like a poor. Or, at least, a middle.

She's in Forever 21 at the moment, cattycornered across the way from the usual mall jewelry store. There's an oily guy over there perusing the counter with a girl who looks way too young to be his wife and way too skanky to be his daughter. Kate slides on her sunglasses and keeps an eye on Joey Pantelones or whatever his name is, although she is momentarily taken aback by a pair of royal purple leggings. That -is- one of her colors. Hmmmmm.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r is wearing a yellow sundress. That is just BARELY on this side of acceptable in polite society. It's extremely low-cut on top and has a hemline barely down her thighs. She signs an autograph as the gorgeons orange-skinned alien walks into the jewelry store, not a care in the world, as she is looking at some of the emeralds.

Punisher has posed:
It isn't often that the Punisher gets a tip about targets on his list. He wears the trenchcoat and skull vest very overtly so people don't tend to look at his face... so that unless someone is actively looking for him, Frank Castle tends to blend in when he's wearing civilian clothing.

Tonight, regular grey shirt and grey jeans are completed by combat boots covered up by said jeans, with a pistol holster concealed by a black jacket. He's making like he's looking over gifts for a wife with a sales assistant. "Yeah, she's got a thing for rubies, but I'm lookin' for somethin' a bit of the modest side, you know? She hates pretentious crap. Can't stand it." Frank comments to the salesperson even as he gives a glance to Koriand'r. She's putting it all out there after all, what interested man wouldn't ogle for a bit?

Hopefully, he would just get them outside, but he needs to trail at least one back to their hideout... and he wants to confirm their roles.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Forget what man, even Kate's gotta take a look with Koriand'r stopping traffic out there in the mall. "Damn, girl!" she says out loud. "I didn't know there was a sale on melons today," she mutters to herself.

Kate's clad relatively simply in a dark purple top and black slacks, slight heels on her boots. Does her purse have a compact springswitch bow and a small quiver of collapsible arrows? Yes. Which sucks, because, honestly, a smaller purse goes better with this look, but she doesn't want to go unarmed and, while she does carry a gun in costume, she feels kinda icky carrying in a mall with all kinds of teenagers around and oh man there's something really dark and familiar about that other guy in the store, Kate can't -quite- place him yet but the little alarm bell in her head is going all Kill Bill.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r seems to be oblivious to the attention - but she turns her head Kate's direction and blows a kiss that actually seems to emit some emerald energy (lip-shaped) that fades out halfway towards Kate as she finds a lovely emerald necklace. She doesn't seem to notice anything amiss - bad guy or vigilante.

Punisher has posed:
When a ring is picked out, Frank spends a truly 'I'm picky' amount of time looking it and others over for comparison. He's not fashion oblivious; you don't get to infiltrate high society dinners for assassinations without keeping up with trends... but he's certainly not a socialite.

For now, Frank keeps a clear line of sight to the entrance, his attention half to Koriand'r and to his marks.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Putting aside the tights (for now!), Kate makes her way out of the Forever 21, setting aside the bags of things she'd already bought elsewhere. She makes her way over to Koriand'r, throwing a wink the gorgeous alien's way before she sidles up just enough to speak.

"Hey, you look like a superhero type person and, if I can be so bold, I'm also a superhero type person, albeit incognito because I am a sneaky type hero, whereas you are a loud and shiny type hero. At any rate, I think there might be some bad mojo creeping around Jared's over there and I don't just mean their over-reliance on very shady South African diamond mining. I mean, that, too, but we can't exactly punch that."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r slides over as she glances at Kate. "Very shiny," she purrrs softly as she glances at the other woman. "I will go back and look at the people closely," she coooos as she saunters back into the jewelry store and while admiring the emerald again, is now looking very carefully at the people inside. Her eye glances towards Frank - he seems a bit off.

Punisher has posed:
Frank is still browsing by the time Koriand'r is looking his way, and he makes no move to hide. Instead, when she looks his way and he 'notices', he gives a friendly wave before giving back to shopping.

Wouldn't due to attract attention.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop narrows her eyes. If she were a dangerous person trying to look normal and she got spotted by an A-plus private eye like herself, she, too, would put on a friendly wave and try to look normal. Or maybe the guy was just normal. Or maybe it was a triple play and she was being lulled into a false sense of security.

But the other guy is definitely really sleazy, as Kate realizes when Joey leans over one of the cases and she gets a glimpse of his holster. She gives Kori the wink and heads towards the jewelry store with the princess in tow, pointing at the mobster, "Hey there, you got a permit for that piece, Tony Soprano?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r does love watching Terran television - she got the reference as she idly points a finger at the gun and fuses the trigger mechanism with a brief blast of emerald light. "I don't believe you're supposed to have such things here," she muses softly to the guy with the gun. "Don't bother - it won't work anymore." She smiles softly. "Why don't you move along please." She leans forward and puts a kiss on the man's cheek - and somehow it left a mark of her lips as her lips got really hot.

Punisher has posed:
Frank makes no move to intervene or even show his hand at having interest. Instead, he speaks into his commlink hidden behind his ear, "Micro, got some interest on the marks. Bring the drone out of standby in case this gets interestin'." Frank mutters under his breath. Then, when the light attracts other's attention, Frank looks for himself with some concern.

"Fuckin' supers. Always sticking their noses and powers where they ain't needed." Frank curses under his breath. This sting operation might go sideways at this point.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop hops up on the jewelry counter, much to the chagrin of the bespectacled MILF type trying to close the sale. She leans over towards the gangster and points a polished fingernail. "I have no idea what she just did to you, but it could be a thousand different things. You might be pooping glitter for the rest of your days. You never can tell with supertypes," she says.

"Of course, that might be better, because I was just going to pull the gun out of your coat and probably break your nose. You're a stinky crook type, I can tell from your hooker girlfriend and your aftershave. Oh, and the scary guy who's creeping around trying to pretend I can't see him. Sorry, I'm a super private detective, I notice stuff. Hi, scary creeper!"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r shrugs. "I just melted the trigger mechamism with a bit of radiation. You might want to get rid of that before you get skin cancer," she muses, smiling widely as she glances back at Kate, wandering back to her. "So - was that the one youw ere worried about? I was looking at some other guy, but he isn't obviously packing." She shrugs.

Punisher has posed:
As Kate openly calls him out, Frank narrows his eyes at her. He's suddenly gone from mostly blending in, to deadly serious. Kate can easily tell that something has shifted over there, poking the tiger.

Whoever the man is, his entire demeanor just changed instantly... like a coiled predator ready to strike. "What's it to you?" Punisher finally grates out in reply.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop hops down off the countertop, seeing the change in the man's demeanor. Although Kori can obviously handle herself (probably way better than anyone else in the Tri-State area), Kate instinctively puts herself between her and the threatening stranger.

Does she shove the mobster to land on his butt and making his skanky girlfriend laugh at him? Well, yes.

"What it is to me is that this is a mall full of junior high kids and grannies picking out stuff for the Christmas stockings. And I see one guy packing and another guy eyeballing him hard in between slapping on a fake smile that never reaches his eyes. So I get kinda worried, so I figure maybe if I at least take some of the chum out of the water, maybe Jaws doesn't bite anybody today."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r murmurs, "So... who's the bad guy here?" she asks faintly. "I assumed the one who had a gun in a 'mall full of kids and grannies' but..." She looks rather confused, as if the concept of not being honest with your motives is a foreign one to her.

Punisher has posed:
"Didn't ask for your intervention, and still don't want it, girl." Frank replies. "Right now, you're just another asshole without a clue gettin' in my business and fuckin' up my plans." He continues.

His hands continue to stay here Kate can see them... but Kate can easily tell Frank is laser focused on /her/ now. She's an unknown variable, and this is a man who improvises on the fly when he needs to.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop manages a brittle smile, sliding her sunglasses back up over her eyes. "Settle down, Clint Eastwood. You got a beef with this douchebag, I really don't care. I haven't looked him up, but I'm guessing he knows what the inside of a cell smells like. You probably do, too, and, if you don't, it ain't cause you don't deserve it," she says.

"I'm saying - this is not your yard. Fight somewhere else. This place full of giggling girls and sweaty hot dogs and overpriced ear piercings? It's protected. By me," she says, then points a thumb over her shoulder at Kori, "Er, us. And she's probably way more scary than me."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles uneasily, not really sure what's going on. "Ummmm... yeah... what she said." She frowns softly as she moves to take a seat on the bench outside the jewelry store, just staring into it. The tension was very uncomfortable and she just wanted some fresh air.

Punisher has posed:
"If I wanted to vent skulls, I could have done it far earlier." Frank notes matter of factly. "You callin' me out in the middle of this place isn't doing anyone any favors." Frank finally starts walking over to Kate, casually. There's still no attempt to go for a weapon.

Which, to be fair, Frank IS a weapon when he wants to be.

"For a 'super detective', you sure are slow on the uptake of a situation." Frank continues as he advances, "and if I honestly wanted to fight you? This store would be shot to shit already, because I would have put a slug into your legs the second you called me out."

Frank continues to advance, "This shit is why I handle most of my work alone." Finally, he stops about a few meters away from her.

It's almost like he's daring her to take a shot.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop has, luckily, a great deal of experience. Not so much in fighting bad guys (although she has a bit of that) or helping to comfort rattled alien princesses. But dealing with the egos of bad ass dudes who don't like her showing them up? Yeah. She's dealt with that a LOT.

"'Vent skulls'. Jesus, Duke Nukem, we get it, you're bad. You could kill us all, if you wanted to tear the place down there'd be twenty explosions and a screaming cyborg bear attacking a group of ninja clowns in the hair salon. But, like, I'm just here to say: don't. Just don't. You wanna be mad at me for that, fine, but you're the one being a dick, not me. I'm just pointing out your dickery. You got clocked, it happens. It happens to me a lot. I'm still not great at the whole shadowing thing and you probably are good at it most of the time, but the mall's a little sparse today and I'm on edge about something else and plus I looked your way because of..." she turns and looks and now Kori's way over there sitting on a bench.

"The new hotness over there. So, let's just eeeeeeeeeeverybody cool out to the max and walk way with nobody getting, and I quote, 'shot to shit'."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r just looks at the two of you, gesturing for both of them to come over to her - she is hoping the tension can be defused. Overhearing something about everyone being killed, she stiffens, but knows that a normal person would be hard-pressed to really hurt her so she just sighs, shaking her head in disappointment, and glances towards the hot dog vendor.

Punisher has posed:
Less of an ego, and more Frank is one of the most confident men on the planet. Not that the distinction matters at this point.

"You do what you gotta do, girl." Frank offers with a bit of finality, before he starts to head for the exit.

He was made, and he's got no interest in escalating, it seems. Time to get out of sight and see what the cage rattling shook loose.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate Bishop waits until Frank gets a little bit away and sighs, "Holy shit. I think I just recognized that guy and I probably just about got my face blown off. Thank god for my reckless sense of unjustified competence," she says.

She makes her way over and slumps down on the bench next to Kori, "Sorry about all that. Do you want a wiener?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r raises an eyebrow, looking Kate up and down. "I don't think you have one," she muses softly. Then she snaps her fingers. "Oh. You meant a hot dog. Yes please. Extra extra extra mustard and sauerkraut and onions please, no ketchup." She watches the angry guy start to walk away.