10946/A Matter of Confidentiality

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A Matter of Confidentiality
Date of Scene: 01 February 2020
Location: New Eden Construction Site, Gotham City
Synopsis: Hugo recruits Berri
Cast of Characters: Hugo Strange, Berri Sundae




Hugo Strange has posed:
You were used to people from Gotham wanting your services. However, none of your prespective clients ever sent you a encrypted letter by the mail. You managed to decrypt the letter after a bit of studying it and finding that the translation came by reversing the letters back by three. The letter was an offer for a bodyguard role and that if you were interested to meet your perespective new employer at the New Eden Construction Site in Gotham near China Basin.

As you approached the site, it seemed abandoned. A big buildboard advertising a new tenament building hung overhead, but all that their was a skeleton of what appeared to be a three story building before being abandoned. After a bit of walking, you were about to give up before you noticed a sheet of printer paper taped to a white van that had a arrow and words above it that said PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES THIS WAY. The arrow then pointed towards what appeared to be a nearby warehouse that construction workeds seemed to keep their tools in.

Berri Sundae has posed:
Mail itself was confusing, impressive and a little confronting. After all, to mail a physical letter meant that someone had to know the location of one of her safehouses. Still, she'd spent some time perusing over the text and sure enough, the icecream-colored criminal had gone to investigate for herself. Someone this...excentric and creative tended to have some degree of money after all. And the construction site? Well, either they were squatting or it was a cover, only one way to find out!

Arriving dressed in her usual white attire, gloves on her hands and parasol held over her shoulder, she indeed did wander into the warehouse. A young woman, seemingly looking rather carefree as she moved her way into the extremely 'seedy' setting, she almost certainly looked a bit out of place. That was part of the charm!

Hugo Strange has posed:
The Warehouse itself seemed just as abandoned as the rest of the site, with dust and the smell of mildew surrounding the air. But, if you were to listen close enough, you would hear what sounded like a bunch of voices talking in what sounded like a bunch of men having a conversation at once. Before you can wonder if this place was haunted or not, your powers pick up someone up ahead.

The man in front of you was one of the biggest men you ever seen in your life. He was about 6ft 11in, blonde with a goatee, and was wearing a tuxedo. If you were to read his base thoughts you would see that they were a mix of curiosity, no doubt because of you r appearance, and a fair bit of suspiciosn. Lars raises his brow a bit and let's out a questioning grunt. Either he wasn't talking to you on purpose or perhaps he was mute, like you.

Berri Sundae has posed:
A little tilt of her head, there's a small gesture of something between greeting and confirmation. Berri believes she's ment to be here after all, and the fact that she's a couple of feet shorter than the man even in her boots.

A flutter of her lashes, she's left to await a little further instruction.

Hugo Strange has posed:
The man lets out a grunt and walks up a set of old stairs towards what appears to be the foreman's office. After a few moments the man walks back out and gestures to you to come up to the stairs and up the office.

Once you were up the stairs and in the office, you would be greeted by the smell of cinnamon and, is that vanilla. The office was decorated like a psychologists office, statue of Sigmund Freud included. Sitting at a neatly decorated desk was a bald man of about medium height with a beard and coke-cap glasses. He smiles at you and gestures to a seat in front of you while saying,

" You must be Berri. Sit down and relax, let's talk business."

Berri Sundae has posed:
A psychologist's office, complete with Freud's statue? There's a raise of her eyebrow, perhaps a slight tweak of her lips in amusement. Perhaps it was easy for a telepath to find the idea of being in the room with a psychologist funny...but it wasn't like she wasn't a person who used plenty of manipulation in her field enough to understand it has its place. With the considerably cleaner room before her, the parasol is snapped shut and she moves towards the chair offered before nodding her head. The use of the word 'talk' however, it earns a raise of an eyebrow.

She doesn't correct him though, perhaps curious enough to test what the man might know. The same curiousity that has her reaching out to try and catch some 'surface' thoughts from the man.

Hugo Strange has posed:
As you reach into Hugo's mind you would notice that his surface thoughts are a mix of intrigue and a generous amount of caution. You would read him thinking up plans in case you tried to kill him on the spot. As you sit down, you would notice a blue Quaker Parrot in the background, a little golden plaque on the foot of his cage reading "Aristotle" on it. Hugo grins at you, his glasses seemingly glowing in the light as he says,

" I am sure uou are wondering how I found you. You remeber one Roger Macklemore. He said he used to work for you during your stint with the O'Rourke Irish Mob in NYC. You see I was considering you for a bodyguard job and Roger recommended you to me, even gave me a address. I am willing to offer you a generous paycheck if you come work for me as a sort of co-bodyguard. You see, the man you met was Lars, my main bodyguard. I have recently realized that Lars might not be enough to protect me and I am in the market for another guard, and i am giving you that chance. What do you say?"

Berri Sundae has posed:
A 'thinker', that much was clear from surface as much as the physical surroundings, but at least there wasn't some immediate plan to decieve her that she could pick up on. Another nod, she's left listening to his explaination, silent as ever for the time being. Found by a recommendation, that sort of explained things, but she would wager he'd dug further than that to be able to put a letter at her hand. Still, she was good enough to know she wasn't perfect, and the odd visit from a hero here and there had proved that to many a criminal. She was still out though, that had to stand for something, especially as she was no longer a minor.

His offer? It's met with a mute tilt of her head and a raise of her hand, palm up as somewhere between a shrug and acceptance. Tentative acceptance perhaps, since there was plenty she didn't know.

Hugo Strange has posed:
Hugo seems to read her mind as he says," I assure you that will be paid most genrously". Hugo then reaches into his desk and pulls out a checkbook. As Hugo writes on the book, the parrot starts squaking a bit and whistling out the tone for Amazing Grace. Hugo's grin seemed to grow bigger at that as he slid over the check, which appeared to be for 25,ooo dollars under an alias, Mr. Alister Freud

"I assure you that the check won't bounce."

Hugo suddenly gets off of his chair and opens his cage, letting the parrot roost on it's shoulder. He then beckons Berri to follwer her out of the office towards another part of the warehouse.

Berri Sundae has posed:
That same 'innocent' blank face, harder for some to read and yet it still somehow managed to convey threat or menace in the right moments. If the check -did- bounce, this was going to be an awfully brief employment, but the young woman does indeed fold the check and place it in the inner breast-pocket of her jacket before making to stand and follow Hugo and his parret out the door. Time to see just what it was that awaited her, task or otherwise. The more she knew about the man, the more she could deal with...or at least expect.

Hugo Strange has posed:
As Hugo walked the catwalk, he casually stroked his parrot's head gently as he said to you,

You see, a bodyguard isn't very useful if they can't fight."

The group of voices from earlier seem to grow louder and louder as you appraoch the next room. When you enter, your powers are bombarded with the thoughs of about 20 men. Looking down you would see what looked like a make-shift MMA cage surrounded by a group of men. Hugo turns to you, parrot on his shoulder still as he said,

"I am not only hiring bodygaurds tonight. I am always in the market for henchmen and tonight happens to be one of my hiring nights. My idea is this, if you manage to last 20 minutes against this lot, you will get your job. What do you say?"

The parrot looks at you blankly and, for the first time tonight talks. It says," Dead men walking."

Berri Sundae has posed:
Well, that was something. A turn of her head, there's a glance towards Hugo and a raise of her parasol as she slowly and deliberately draws out the concealed metal blade hidden within. This could be over rather fast if she decided to be lethal and the drawn-out draw was clearly intended to suggest it was something she wasn't beyond doing...but the weapon is replaced in its sheath and instead the 'blunt' parasol is hefted over one shoulder before she moves into the cage.

Even for someone trained as she is, twenty men moving in tandem would be impossible. Of course, Berri was more than just trained; she was a meta. To force them all into unconciousness was too draining, but to muck with perception, confuse and slow them enough to be manageable? Well, that was Berri's favorite trick!

Inside the cage she turns, twirling a little on one heel before she gestures for the thugs to begin.

Hugo Strange has posed:
As Berri walked in, hugo shouted out to her, "Try not to kill them young lady! I do need the extra help!" Two men wearing dress shirts and ties in the cage, obviously two of Hugo's men, opened the cage door, letting in two thugs to start, perhaps to test how tough you were. One of the thugs, a tall, muscular man wearing a tank-top and blue jeans alughs and says,

This is gonna be easy! Prepare to be squashed kid!"

He then charges at Berri, followed by another goon wearing a black hoodie and jeans.

Berri Sundae has posed:
The fact he said 'try'? it was reassuring. Then the fight was on and she simply seems to stand...completely still, letting Hugo's thugs move forwards right up until the moment he swings his fist...which was suddenly deflected with a sharp blow from the parasol held in her hand. Her leg flies upwards, a smoothly executed axe kick that instead slams the toe of her boot into the man's face while he's off balance before her 'weapon' hooks behind his head and drags him down to the floor. Ordinarily she'd 'play with her food' a little more, but there -was- 19 more to go. She'd have time.

She was already moving, surging forwards to leap high and drive her knees straight at the face of the second goon. From the outside it looked fast, but from the man's persepctive? The timing and position had been oh-so-subtly adjusted to throw off any attempt at defense or dodging.

Hugo Strange has posed:
The second goon looks on in shock as Berri files her knees into his face. He does not have time to respond and he gets hit full force by the attack. As the second man lies on the ground unconcious and bleeding from the nose, the cage door opens again, bringing in five more men. One of these men, a huge African American one wearing a black t-shirt appears to be clutching chains, which he immediatelty swings at you while another goon charges you with a wrench.

Berri Sundae has posed:
Well, at least it wasn't twenty at once! Berri still had to move to stay ahead of the swinging fist, booting legs and attempts to grab at her. Springing, twisting, sliding underneath the legs of one thug, she comes back to her feet and pivots enough to deflect a swing ment for her into the back of another man. Rapid strikes to knees, groins, faces, all of them were intended to put the thugs down hard and fast.

Before they could overwhelm her...or she got too tired.

Hugo Strange has posed:
By the time your flurry of attacks were done, four of the five goons were on the ground, groaning in pain. The only one left standing, the man with the chains, wraps the chains around his fists suddenly and charges at you, swinging his fists at you.

Berri Sundae has posed:
A twist, a pivot, a lean, one on one was far more manageable...and Berri was showing off a little. It wasn't just hubris, it was intimidation. If she -looked- untouchable, it was easier to make the next men let into the cage believe it. Turning like she were moving to flee, it looked almost like she were trying to run -through- the cage for a moment until she ducked down low at the last swing and kicked out as hard as she could at the man's ankle. If she could throw him off-balance and stretched? The following knee to the groin was going to hurt.

Hugo Strange has posed:
The man is fit in the ankle and slumps down on the ground, only to get floored by the shot to the groin. The cage door suddenly opens again and the final 13 men come in to the cage, shouting, cursing, and letting out savage war cries.

Berri Sundae has posed:
Even for Berri, this was going to suck. She couldn't kill them to keep their numbers down, she didn't have places to hide or as much room to move. One might actually swear they saw her sigh before she lept into the fray. She was a blur, twisting and striking in a wild storm of white, brown and bright pink...but even with disorientation there were simply too many for her to be completely unscathed. The odd strike collects here, a kick catches her across the side before she can strike out and one of the men manages to seize her around the waist.

A sudden spring of metal unsheathing, the grappling thug screams in pain as he's stabbed in the foot. He'd live, but that probably hurt like hell!

Barely enough time taken to catch her breath, Berri was back in the mix knocking down as many as she could, as fast as she could!

Hugo Strange has posed:
Hugo eyebrows raise with amazement as Berri stabs the man with the blade to the foot. What do you know, she found a loop-hole to use her blade. As the number of goons fropped, Hugo grinned as the bird chirped, she was defiantley gonna be useful. After she was done, there were only five goons left. One of them was a large Samoan man man covered in tattoos from his face to his legs. He lets out what can only be described as a native war cry and charges at Berri, head-on. At the same time, another goon, a man wearing a black polo shirt, also charges.

Berri Sundae has posed:
Five to go...but it was a big five. Berri held her weapon up defensively for a moment as she weighed her options...then she smirked after a moment. There was a noise of effort, some clear display that she was exerting herself even if she wasn't moving as she pushed her will outwards and tried to overwhelm the mind of the big guy. She didn't need to fight him, if she could make him believe the others were his enemy first after all.

Hugo Strange has posed:
The man's eyes widen suddenly as Berri's powers took effect. Suddenly, he charges into the man in the black polo shirt and starts to beat the crud out of him quite brutaly. The two remaining thugs, one wearing a leather kacket and one wearing a baseball jersey start charging at her at once.

Berri Sundae has posed:
A breath, Berri's left with too more manageble-sized mooks. Good, because even she was starting to look a little tired. With the pair charging at her, she's left to charge right back...and then slip sideways at the last moment, hoping to tangle them up. It's a tangle intended even more as she acrobatically springs and rolls -over- the back and shoulders of the first and deliberately dismounts roughly to shove the second into her improvised platform...and then try to turn and kick him hard in the face while he's off balance.

Hugo Strange has posed:
Berri's move works at the two men are tangled up and Berri kicks the man wearing the jersy, causing him to fall down hard, taking the first goon with him. Now, the only goon left is the large Samoan, who had just finished beating up the goon. He looks at Berri with malice, the effects of her mind powers seemingly wearing off. But, before he can charge again, Hugo claps his hands. He then starts to make his way towards them, saying while walking,

"Congratualtions you two, you are the final two standing."

Berri Sundae has posed:
A call to end, and not a moment too soon. Berri might straighten up, she might even flash that smile and flutter of her lashes...but she was breathing harder and clearly felt the effort. Without the league's training to push through it, she'd probably be slumped and exhausted by now. Folding her parasol back up, the young woman takes a small bow while never taking her eyes off the pair and then tilts her head. The wounded around her, they're seemingly ignored our outright forgotten.

Hugo Strange has posed:
The Samoan takes one look at Hugo, then at Berri, his eyes read confusioned as he looked down and saw what he did to the other goon. Why the hell did he do that? Hugo finally made it down to the cage and, while casually stepping over the bodies of the failed goons, beckoned the Samoan over to stand next to Berri. The Samoan complied, the smell of cologne wafting off of him as he did. Hugo then turned to Berri and said,

"Well young woman, you exceded my expectations. You are hired." He then turns to the Samoan and says," You are too Mr. Kameah. You two better get aquainted, you will be taking orders from her, as well as me and Lars." The Samaon just grunted and nodded.

Berri Sundae has posed:
A smirk, she was certain the Samoan wasn't going to be all too happy with that pecking order, but the two-tone meta simply smiles and bows her head before she lowers her parasol and leans against it, the tip on the ground supporting her weight. This wasn't the -wildest- recruitment she'd been through, but she'd certainly remember it. Of course, she wasn't going to let on she was feeling the aches and bruises, but after she'd cashed the check? Well...

There was a milkshake and a bubblebath with her name on it!