10768/The Rumble of the Train

The Rumble of the Train
Date of Scene:	17 January 2020
Location:	The Orange Train
Synopsis:	Nick runs into some old 'friends'
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Samuel Morgan
Tinyplot:	Digging Up The Past

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the night gets later and later, there are less and less people using the subway. Most prefer to get home before the service eventually stops for the night. Most people not wishing to be out partying during the colder months anyways.

That's how it was over at the station where Nick got on. He had the whole car to himself and he took advantage of it. Dressed down, but giving the knitcap a rest, he is instead wearing worn jeans, a tee shirt and a hoodie. The hoodie is on now, partially zipped up with the hood over his head. His feet rest squarely on the floor of the car as he leans over in his seat, resting the sleeved arms on his leg. He doesn't say much and with how little he moves, one could mistake him for sleeping. They wouldn't be far off. After a few drinks, he's feeling very relaxed.

It's quiet. But by the time the train left the Hell's Kitchen area, there were a few more persons in the car, lingering off to the side and chatting with each other, occasionally glancing to the other occupant of the car, as people tend to do.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Get on the subway, and ride it for at least an hour. For most students in New York, that wouldn't count as homework, that'd be their daily route to school. But Bean isn't one of those students, and his homework assignments tend to be less cerebral and far, far more social. He can conceptualize answers to theoretical problems that would have some of the most learned minds at top universities scratching their heads, but ironically he cannot do what other teenagers seem to take for granted. Crowds, people, daily interaction with strangers...

    And so Bean is on the subway today, for a trial run, working his way up to the full experience. At least, that's his way of thinking about it. Sat in his hoodie and combats, exuding an air of quiet menace with a severe case of 'resting serial killer face', he at least blends in with most average New Yorkers this time of night. And for excursions like this, Bear is absolutely essential, the German Shepherd sat with lolling tongue on the seat next to him, breaking at least one of the rules of the subway. But woe betide whomsoever asks him to move the mutt...

    Unknown to him, he's one car over from Nick, and constantly looking around. He does not like this place, and absolutely everyone near him is getting threat assessed.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
There's not much to the crowd over to the corner in terms of appearance. Sure, they're a bit on the larger and built side and they're wearing similar attire, the second hand variety, but that's common place for the area they come from. Likely early to mid-thirties. They're still chatting but one of them eventually breaks from the group, casually walking over to where Nick is sitting.

The break in the murmurs brings Nick out of his relaxed trance. The head lifts, blue eyes fixing on the cold dark eyes of the slicked back hair wearing goon.

The man smiles, the expression matching the eyes, "Well. If it isn't little Mikey. The years HAVE been good to you."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Uniformity of dress, conforming identities to signify a shared heritage, geographical location, purpose or philosophy. In short, uniform. While that kind of thing might have a benign reason in civilian life, somehow Bean suspects that these loiterers in the next car aren't priests of a sect he doesn't know or some kind of charitable organisation. Too much dirt, not enough cheer and pamphlets. Bear is transfixed by the sight of the scenery going past, but the mutant is starting to get a bit suspicious. Hmmm...

    "C'mon Bear." And so he stands, walking to the interconnecting door...

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The confirmation seems to be enough to get the rest of the group moving casually. One lingers near the door leading to the next car while the others seem to mill out, each picking a different set of doors. Six doors, four men, not counting the one confronting Nick. "I think the last time we saw you was when Moretti got to you."

Nick remains silent, a glance looking to where the others are moving to before the loudmouth of the group shoves his face closer to Nick's.

"Moretti was MY friend."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Divide et Impera. Secure the area, remove witnesses, commit the act, leave the scene. Approach, Secure, Execute, Exfiltrate... that's how it was described in the field manual Bean had to learn cover to cover, until he could recite it word perfect doing a hundred push ups with someone bellowing questions in his ear. He sees that's going on and, much to his surprise, recognises the victim as well. He'd have gotten involved either way, but now the choice was somehow easier.

    *Bonk*

    He tries to open the door into the other car, only to have it bounce off the shoe of the man guarding it. Not that it stops him. Obstinately, like a man pecking at a concrete wall with a bit of straw, he just tried again.
    *Bonk*

    *Bonk*

    *Bonk* *Bonk* *Bonk*

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the door hits the one man, he growls, turning to look to the kid on the other side of the door gap. "Listen kid, you don't want to be in here."

Perhaps it is the beer. Or perhaps it is because there's an inkling of memory stirred at the mention of the name. But the hooded musician slowly smiles. "Moretti is a coward."

"You so-" Angrily the larger man brings back a fist to swing it towards Nick's face.

Unfortunately for him, Nick moves first, sliding downward and bring a foot swiftly upwards between the assailent's legs.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Recently, Bean has seen a movie that contained some his current most favorite quotes. Not well versed in normal pop culture, he's doing his best to catch up, although some of his viewing choices are perhaps a bit... eclectic. And, in the words of Buster Scruggs, sometimes your response to these kinds of situations has to be downright Archimedian. There is no response from Bean when the man denies him access, but he does now know roughly the amount of travel in the door.

    He takes a step back, his interest in entering the next car seemingly diminished. That gives him all the clearance he needs. His right leg comes up, weight is transferred to his left, and then his entire body weight and every bit of spring leverage he can force out of his leg muscles is applied to the door in a perfect breaching kick. Designed to take locked security doors off their hinges, he doesn't imagine an unlocked door in a subway car is going to stand much chance.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the door gets hit with Bean's proportionally unusual kick, the man guarding it ends up getting shoved forward, "The f-!" Immediately the door guard nearest him turns to assist in an attempt to stop the new entrant.

A little distracted by the unexpected smack to a certain region, the talkative goon's swing falters as he insteads end up crouching down in a grimace. "You s-"

Nick doesn't reply in kind, instead grasping the subway chair he had been in for support as he brings up another vicious kick before moving to his feet.

The extra kick, while apparently gratifying, comes at a cost as the one guarding the other main door rams right into him.

The fifth man, dutifully keeps the still intact door leading to the other car closed.

The lights start to flicker as the train goes around a turn, setting those not sitting or holding on to something off balance.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    On the whole, Bean prefers to stick to holds and grapples when getting involved in fights. Locks, holds, twists... all the various forms of manipulating an enemy's limbs or putting pressure on the right spots that fall under the umbrella of 'pain compliance'. Not only is he less likely to injure someone, but the relative level of force required to subdue an opponent is far smaller. A man might laugh at getting punched in the face, but that same man will go down like a sack of spuds when his body is hit in the right spot to release a flood of potassium. That spot is the gland just under the armpit, as door-stopper goon finds out fairly early on. It's just two knuckles applied to the right spot after grabbing an arm, nothing could be easier.

    Unfortunately, the strategy goes out the window when the train suddenly shunts to the side, and Bean needs to rebalance himself in a hurry, leaving him in a disadvantageous position to deal with the back up goon... who is now, most likely, front line goon.

    And so he has to resort to more barbaric means. Fists, elbows, feet and knees... Subdual through brute force.

    The lights in the car go into emergency lighting.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Twisting about, Nick's fist is hidden from view from the mass on top of him as he strikes the man in the stomach. With the train shifting, Nick uses his feet to shove against one of the partitions to push himself away from the newly acquired assailent. A quick glance towards talky confirms that he's still not in the fighting mood which is more than fine for him as he's dealing with number three.

Fifth Guy is stilll dutifully guarding the door. Looking a little uncertain to how the scene is going.

The second guy Bean deals with is much better off than the first. Having not been hit by the door in the process, and the attack wiping out any reservations about hitting a much younger kid, he's swinging his fists as well. But the knee doesn't take as well to the attack as he ends up buckling from the strike. "Y-"

A low laugh starts to emit from under the hoodie. Nick's teeth starting to twist in a large, somewhat unsettling smile.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Knees. They are, after the elbow, the most fragile joint of the human body. And, unlike the elbow, they carry most of the body's weight. The kick is vicious, even for a street brawl. Even as he blocks the punch coming his way and deflects it so that it just barely grazes his cheek, Bean is already following up on the opening he created by folding the man's knee in the wrong direction. Two piston strikes to the ribs to inhibit breathing, an elbow strike to the neck to disrupt blood flow to the brain, and finish with a knee to the solar plexus as he steps in and around the goon. Bean's taking out the trash. In the club he might have put on a bit of a demonstration, but this is all about swift, decisive and seemingly brutal violence applied in as short a time as possible.

    Goon five should really, really start to worry at this point, because the hooded teenager is clearly intent on making his way through the entire car.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The fifth goon's attention shifts over to Nick's hoodie as the laugh emits, eyes widening and hand resting on the handle. With Bean's movment indicating his intent added on too-

The fifth goon is indeed FULLY considering this option.

The sound of sudden movement and a padded thunk fills the as the man on top of Nick falls back, landing on the floor, wheezing.

Now free, Nick starts to get up off of the seat, swinging himself on one of the bars to turn to look towards goon five.

The door slides open and shut.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    In Bean's experience, goons tend not to take the smart option. So, when goon five decides that his long term health is more important than whatever issue he may have had with Nick and removes himself from the area, the teenager is pleasantly surprised. Threat assessment? Low. All active enemy combatants incapacitated. Status of ally? Unknown. Area moderately secure.

    There is a sharp whistle.

    Bear jumps over the gap between the cars with no effort whatsoever, fastidiously traipses over Goon One, steps heavily on Goon Two and comes to sit next to Bean... who, in turn, looks over to Nick. "Looked like you needed help. I'm thinking that maybe my assessment was wrong."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The retreat of the fifth goon inspires another low chuckle, volume slowly dying away as he slumps against the vertical bar..

"I did need help." Nick admits, "Just, not the way you're probably thinking."

He closes his eyes, resting the forehead against the pole as he takes a deep breath. Free hand flexing into a fist before loosening. He gives a weak smile, different than the one in the fight.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I see." And, it must be noted, Bean does. Able to see more of his new friend now than before, observing the body language and the sudden violence he was clearly capable of, Bean understands perfectly. Understands it on a level that only few people would be able to claim. He looks around the car for a moment, and the lights come back on fully. He doesn't usually show off his talents like that, but in close quarters engagements usually every bit of intimidation helps. "You'd be surprised how often I needed that help myself."

    And so he sits, next to the seat Nick was occupying, stretching his legs out until they rest on top of the unfortunately talkative goon. Bear jumps into the seat next to him, and peers down at the softly whimpering human, tilting his head at his own human as if to ask if there's anything else he needs to do. A fuss between the ears answers that.

    "Friends of yours?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick looks to the lumps of stupidity on the floor and shakes his head as the train starts to pull into the station. "Friend is a strong word." Nick replies, shaking his head, "Go to another car. I'll deal with the police." Door opening, he steps out onto the platform.