Difference between revisions of "11521/Milk Cartons: Laying down some ground rules"

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Revision as of 19:36, 21 May 2020

Milk Cartons: Laying down some ground rules
Date of Scene: 21 May 2020
Location: St. Margaret's Church, Bushwick
Synopsis: Punisher visits Cloak and Dagger to talk about goals.
Cast of Characters: Dagger, Cloak, Punisher




Dagger has posed:
It has been a few weeks since the last major take down at the docks, and Cloak and Dagger has been mostly laying low. There has been a few rumors here and there of the two of them knocking out a drug lord and crippling the flow fo cocaine into the neighborhood, but only stalls temporarily.

Tandy is in the church, wearing a pair of slim jeans, a black jacket and a simple t-shirt. She has a backpack open and is currently rummaging about in it to pull out a box of crackers that was dropped off recently by a friend. There is now a few lights set up, small enough to be put away quickly, but enough to give some light so they aren't always in total darkness. Sure, she could be a walking flash light, but the has to conserve for their nightly activities fighting crime.

Cloak has posed:
Thankfully, Cloak doesn't need to eat. So any their meager food and drink supplies are her's without the need to share. It's one less addition to their long list of general concerns. He is sitting near the alter, looking no different than unusual with the ever-present cloak around him. Well, almost always present. This night was an anomaly, and he's been hard to locate since. His eyes are closed and his posture relaxed, though not so that he's slumped over asleep. He's aware, but zoned out. Meditating, perhaps? The faint light casts a dull glow against him that seems to flicker and fade against the shadowy aura that leaks from the folds of fabric.

Punisher has posed:
A few weeks that the Punisher has been doing other things... but Microchip? He's been doing his investigative magic. Anyone who operates for a serious length of time in a region leaves patterns, no matter how carefully they try to hide them. Superman is well known for sticking to Metropolis. Batman keeps to Gotham. Spider-Man likes New York. Etc etc.

Some are more difficult than others (Cloak being a teleport is a serious difficulty) but when you stay at a location, you're still showing fingerprints so to speak.

It was rumor at best, but the Church had been tagged as a potential hideout for the duo. A couple days surveillance had confirmed that. Now, the Punisher was inside the Battle Van, just outside. Wearing a baseball cap and keeping his trenchcoat closed so bystanders didn't recognize the skull vest, he approaches the front door. "The packages ready?" the Punisher asks over his commlink. "Both drones are ready to do their thing, Frank. Just confirm the DMS. I can remote deactivate it if this doesn't go horribly wrong."

"Copy."

There's a knock on the Church door.

Dagger has posed:
Glancing upwards at the knocking, Tandy pushes herself upwards, then taps a button on the light to wash the church in darkness. As she moves closer towards her partner, she lets his darkness dull her own natural glow as one hand pulls forth a blade along her palm. She gives a glance up to Tyrone for a moment, then gives a jerk of her head. "Teleport us to the second level so we can see out the window."

Cloak has posed:
At the knock, the shadowman's eyes slowly open and turn towards the door. "It's not the normal time for visitors or the clergy." He confirms in a low voice. He doesn't seem quiet as alarmed. This is a working church, perhaps its just someone seeing confession off hours. He rises up onto his feet with a soft rustle of fabric and stretches out an arm in what would look to be a sideways hug of Tandy. Then they're gone and reappearing up in the above choir loft.

Punisher has posed:
There the Punisher stands, waiting. There's a DMS in his right hand, concealed in the fingers just enough that only someone at the door could see it.

The door isn't gonna open itself yet. Unknown to them, the Punisher is allowing them to set whatever defenses they like. This is a business meeting after all.

Not an assault.

Dagger has posed:
"What does he want." Tandy says with a furrow of her brows as she glances upwards at Cloak, then back out through the window as the shadows hide their presence. "Do you think he's come to hunt us?" She gives a furrow of her brows.

"I suppose we can just open the door and let him in. If he wants a fight though, we'll give him one."

Cloak has posed:
"This is a bad place for a fight. Too public." Cloak says to Dagger as he squints out the window. "And from what I've seen of him, he seems to try too hard to stay alive to do something suicidal, at least against us. We seem to have the same goals. Stay here."

And no sooner does he tell her to stay than he disappears, teleporting back down to the lower level to open the door. At least if the man started shooting, he would be aiming at a guy who can absorb bullets. Dryly, he greets Frank with, "I assume that you're not bringing cookies."

Punisher has posed:
The man stands there still, looking at Tyrone with a critical eye for a brief second. Tyrone will immediately see the DMS in his right hand... and that he has a thumb on it. "I only bring cookies if they're laced with C4." The Punisher grates out in reply.

It's hard to tell if he's being serious or not; he probably is.

"I've been tracking you two for a while now. Do you have time for a chat? Also, I should warn you. Try to fuck me over here, and this Church gets peppered with my equivalent of holy hell."

"I can talk here, or inside. Makes no difference to me."

Dagger has posed:
"You can blow this church up. It would not mean anything to us." Tandy says as she peeks from around Cloak, her hand glowing with a trio of blades between her knuckles. "It is merely a roof to have over our head during the day. But you would not survive the experience."

She gives a glance up to Cloak, then shrugs her shoulders as she gives a motion of her hand. "Come in then, as long as you aren't here to cause violence. We have no qualm with you, Punisher. For the most part I believe we're on the same side of the coin."

Cloak has posed:
"This is a holy place." Cloak says to Punisher, looking both annoyed and even offended. "One who does a great deal to help those in the surrounding neighborhood. Destroying it would leave them weakened for it, and less people able to fix it. If I wanted to harm you, I'd have done it, and I assure you that there is little you could do to stop it."

Cloak turns away from the armed man and steps aside between pews. "We aren't your enemy unless you make us one. You are the one who came here to talk. So, step in and talk. For all of our collective sins, God has yet to strike us down for crossing the threshold."

Punisher has posed:
The Punisher steps in without another word, past the duo. The trenchcoat is opened, and both the skull vest *and* his gear web under it are revealed; he's got quite the arsenal strapped to him. Maybe he just likes doing social visits armed to the teeth?

"I've been doin' this a long time. It pays to keep up to date intelligence on the goings on in your operating area, and you two have proven that you at least seem to have a vendetta against certain criminal organizations in this city."

He turns around to the two, taking off his baseball cap and putting it into a trenchcoat pocket as he watches the two. "You two seem new to the board as it were. What's your angle?"

Dagger has posed:
"We are just tired of poison dealers selling their wares to young children on the streets, trapping them in a life of pain and addiction. They are a cancer to this city and we are the cure that will cleanse these streets. We prey upon those who hurt the innocent." Dagger says as she folds her arms across her chest, blowing some blonde bangs away from her face.

"Not so long ago, we were two young teens on the streets, run aways, before we were kidnapped and experimented on by those who wanted to push a new synthetic heroin. It changed us into this. Turned us into monsters. Gave us these powers that we now use in turn to snuff those out who think they can do to others what they did to us. Trafficking. Drugs. Rap."

"It is our holy mission and we will see it through."

Cloak has posed:
Tyrone Johnson remains next to Dagger, no doubt to protect her at a moment's notice, but for the most part the man seems calm. "We were the only two to survive, let alone changed. Clearly that means something, so even if our lives were taken from us, we'll use the weapons that were given to us to help ensure others have the chance to live their's."

As he speaks, there's the impression of gritted teeth, of raw anger and zealous dedication. "We have nothing to lose. The people out there have everything to lose. So what about you? Why do you hunt?"

Punisher has posed:
"I do this because no one else will. It wasn't always this way... but corruption is everywhere now, and there are plenty of people out there that are nothing but a cancer on the systems of the world. Ever since my family was gunned down by a corrupt and stupid DA, I've done what I can to make sure that sort of thing never happens to anyone else again."

He reaches into his gear web with his left hand. It's slow enough that the two have no problem with seeing the Beretta. It looks like a 9mm chambered variant, "sometimes, a bit of blackmail will make them resign. Sometimes-" He looks to the pistol briefly, then back to Tyrone, "-this is the only solution."

"My war is about the people of this world who can't defend themselves, or have no skill or power to change it. Frank Castle's family is dead, Frank Castle with them. The only thing I live for now is to be sure no one else dies like he did. I call myself The Punisher to make it clear of my motives."

The pistol is replaced into it's holster.

Dagger has posed:
"We are Cloak and Dagger." Tandy says as she gives a twirl of the glowing blade about in her palm, then squeezes her fingers shut around it as it disappears. "For the obvious reasons. It was an apt name to give ourselves. We are not superheroes though. We have no intent on putting on capes and fighting bad guys. We just want to protect the children from those who harm them."

"So, now that you know our story, what now? Are you going to tell us to keep off your turf?" She says with a tug of her lips up into a grin.

Punisher has posed:
"I figured it was along those lines. I typically work alone because it's much easier to be stealthy. Hit shoot what you can't see... but I see no reason we can't work together on bigger operations." The Punisher glances to Tandy, "Are you open to cooperation, or do you want to do your own thing?"

Cloak has posed:
"Dagger is right." Says Cloak. "There's enough to protect the world from aliens. We're here to look after the ones they like to call 'collateral damage' and to keep these scum on the streets from having the chance to grow into something bigger. All of these so-called supervillains start small. We cut the head off before the snake can become a hydra."

"As for working together, it sounds like we have the same preferences. Most of what we do, we can handle alone, and it draws less attention to us all as a whole. We don't need to encourage the gangs and crime organizations to start banding together. But, having someone to call on if there's a larger issue can be helpful. We can also share information. Three pairs of eyes can watch over more than one."

Dagger has posed:
"We don't really do the .. team thing.. unless we're over our heads, such as when we partnered with the X-Men to take down that warehouse full of kidnappers." Tandy says as she gives a glance to Cloak for a moment, then back to the Punisher. "But, if you are working on something that involves the protection of children and removing drugs from the streets, we can work with you."

"We are not assassins though. We will take a life if need be, but they must be a truly heinous person." She says as she leans in against Cloak, stepping into the folds of his fabric to wrap it about her within the confines of the inky dark.

Punisher has posed:
"Not many to go my extremes." Punisher admits, "I routinely assassinate problems, so I have no doubt that we'd butt heads on occasion." Then, the Punisher pulls out a USB thumb drive, and tosses it at the feet of the two. "Contact information, and a bit of intel on organizations involving children. Consider it a gift of good faith."

Then, he turns and starts to leave, "deactivate the DMS, Micro."

With that, the remote Dead Mans Switch is dropped on the ground as he heads for the door, "Microchip will monitor for you for me. He's very good at what he does, so I have no doubt we'll be in touch."

Dagger has posed:
Glancing down at the thumb drive, Tandy leans over and picks it up, then puts it into her pocket. "Don't keep too close of a tab. We like our privacy." She furrows her eyes, tracking him towards the door. "Was nice to meet you, Punisher. Thanks for not shooting us."

There is a low noise from Cloak's throat as he gives a shake of his head, sweeping his cloak around her protectively for a moment, half hiding her in shadow. "Goodbye." He says simply, gruffly.