3737/Dire portents and war councils.

Dire portents and war councils.
Date of Scene:	26 January 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Rache is informed of the upcoming confrontation. Will she be able to make it? Will bullets make a difference? Who knows...
Cast of Characters:	Rachel Cole-Alves, Shadow

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Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
It's the middle of the night, and 'Rache' has taken to the streets alone, as always. Not many people have the sotmach for the level of violence following in this woman's wake. She is very precise, at least: no innocents and no collateral damage. How is that possible? The bad guys are just that big and omnipresent. Her definition of 'collateral' might also be a litlte loose.

This time Rache has just been roughing up a muscular young man with a Brooklyn accent. They met in a surprisingly clean alley not too far from East Harlem, conspicuous for their respective vocal intonations.

"Bobby, I know you're not telling me something. You can't cover for this scum. I promise you - I am getting ot the bottom of this. And when the smoke clears they're not the ones you need to be afraid of."

Bobby is alread ybleeding from a split lip. Rache apparently saw fit to give him a few punches during their discussion. Some muted whispers follow. Protsts, reassurances. A punch to the gut. Rachel finally sends 'Bobby' on his way, coughing and stumbling, and stares off into the darkness.

Really, Rachel is just a figure. Mottled grey clothing, belt, ballistic vest. A pistol on her belt. More slender than most vigilante figures of her sort but just as determined and just as dangerous. Her next target has to be coming up soonn. If not she wouldn't be wasting time staring up at the moon overhead.

Shadow has posed:
... A glance at the moon, the faint rustle of cloth on cloth, and when she looks back down the alley is no longer empty. A tall figure in a black greatcoat and cloak and matching hat is standing less than a meter away from her personal space, with no indication how they got that close. Sapphire blue eyes bore into hers, the only feature visible over the red scarf covering their face. They can't have been standing there long or Bobby would have run into them on his way out of the alley, but by their posture it they could have been standing there forever and could stay there for hours more if need be.

    "... Mrs. Cole-Alves," the figure offers, a twitch of the head indicating a greeting, and even if she didn't recognize the person, she recognizes the voice from earlier...

Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
"...Who are you?" Rachel asks. She covers for her initial anxiety well. Tension, a slight hitch to her voice, but then a calm, measured response. It doesn't stop a gloved hand from dropping to the pistol that Rache keeps on her belt. No doubt she has others but that pistol is the one she is most accustomed to using. It's obvious just by how she reaches for it.

"I didn't think I'd been found out yet," Rachel continues very quietly. She settles her gaze firmly onto the figure and undoes the clasp on her holster without actually lifting the gun free. This person remembered to include Daniel's name. That bought them a few seconds of reprieve, even if it was in spite of Rachel's best judgment.

"Planning to tell me to stop going after these people?"

Shadow has posed:
    A shrug, and then a shake of the head. "That would be more hypocritical of me than I would prefer to consider being," the figure responds, a slight shift in their position causing the coat to ripple in an unfelt breeze. "I've been looking into the kidnappings from before." they continue. "As it turns out, it's far from over yet. And we may not have much time."

Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
    There's a brief pause and then Rachel's eyes widen slightly. She takes a deep breath. "You're him. From the- kidnapping,"begins the redhead's reply . She pauses for a moment, holds her breath for a couple beats, and then continues, "Not much time. Alright. What do you need me to do?" It's easier to take these things at face value, or appear to. She can always evalute what is going on after she gets the details. The pistol, for its part, has been drawn but has not been leveled on anyone, least of all the figure in front of Rachel now.

Shadow has posed:
    "Kidnappings they were, but not in the usual fashion," The Shadow replies with a nod. "The cultists apparently serve a demon lord by name of 'Satannish', and they stopped kidnapping because they filled their quota. Tomorrow at five PM, he intends to open a portal from his home to Times Square and send out a horde of his demons to possess the vain, the greedy, the ambitious and those too weak-willed to resist temptation. If they're not stopped at the breach..." The voice trails off, letting Rache's imagination paint in the picture.

Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
    "Won't find any shortage of hosts in New York City," Rachel half-mutters. Her expression is one of dour contemplation. Half of her seems to want to reject this as nonsense but the other half saw what hapepned to those kidnapping victims when the Cultists' spell went awry. Rachel nods slowly and then finally takes a deep breath. She sighs softly as she adjsuts her feet from left to right. "And I take it my unique expertise will be useful in stopping them? Do they emerge in physical- bodies first then...?" That frown slowly deepens. "I need all the tactical data I can get on these demons before I can commit to anything - but. If we're stopping those kidnappings or- worse- ...then I am in."

Shadow has posed:
    "My source indicates they should be relatively weak until and unless they find a human host to possess," the Shadow replies. "Satannish himself will likely be a harder target, but the mystic community is being alerted as well. Hopefully they will be able to counter him when he emerges." ... If not, they're all screwed because nothing the Shadow has is going to put a dent in a demon lord.

    "One other thing -- it is possible to free the possessed. Subduing them physically and taking them to a church for an exorcism has a high chance for success. It worked at least twice that I've seen. When it comes to demonic victims, try nonlethal takedowns if possible. The cultists, on the other hand, are completely devoted to their lord -- to the point of committing suicide just to strengthen him. From what I've been able to gather he needs their help to force the portal open on this side."

Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
Rachel listens to all of this with a somewhat nonplussed expression. Finally she crosses her arms over her chest and then gives a slow nod. "I hope we have a little bit of time. I should probably get a few things together before we try to take on a demonic horde." This is stated fairly earnestly, with Rachel tilting her head slightly and then taing a deep breath. "Nonlethal. Got it. Civilians always complicate things...' She sighs softly. "I suppose it's pointless ot hope we can contain it to the point there are no innocent hosts to deal with. I'll just have to settle for - heavy ordnance."

Shadow has posed:
    "According to my source, the incursion will happen at five PM on Saturday," the Shadow replies. "Whether or not that's accurate, I can't say. But I don't think we can afford not to take it seriously. So we have /some/ time. But not much..."

Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
    "Then I need to get moving," Rachel replies quietly. "Well." She pauses for a beat and then drops her blue eyes to the ground in front of her. "I have a weapons shipment to check on. I'll give you the number to one of my burners so we can get back in touch before all of this is set to go down."

Shadow has posed:
    A nod. "I have others to contact, and not much time left to do so, the Shadow replies. "Watch your back, Sergeant." After the number is exchanged, the figure turns to leave, the sudden movement causing the cape to billow out and blur in with the moving shadows cast by the flickering streetlights -- and an eyeblink later, there are only shadows and the heavily armed redhead finds herself alone in the alley...

Rachel Cole-Alves has posed:
    "Never getting used to that. Fifty fifty I should have shot him." Shaking her head Rachel reholsters her pistol and then takes a deep breath. She plants her feet shoulder width apart and looks upward, blue eyes wide as they take in the sky overhead. "It doesn't get any easier to follow in your footsteps, does it?" With that said Rachel buriesh er hands into her pockets and starts out of the alley. There's plenty of work left to be done tonight.