5282/A Live Studio Audience

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A Live Studio Audience
Date of Scene: 01 September 2018
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: In an effort to learn more about The Contessa and her operation, Frank is stunned to find out the girl appears to be much younger than any criminal mastermind should be.
Cast of Characters: Punisher, Ekaterina Vespucci




Punisher has posed:
It's a warm, humid summer evening and the lights of the city cast a bright glow into the partly cloudy sky. Horns and sirens echo off the buildings in the borough, a symphony swimming through the thick, moist air. Standing on the rooftop of a relatively short building is a man dressed in all black. Frank Castle. He's been out on a series of investigations over the past few weeks after he noticed a common thread between several crime families in the city and a name he wasn't familiar with had popped up a few times: The Contessa. Also apparently known as Lady Artifice.

Having a break in his persuit of an organization called The Foot, Frank decided it might be a good opportunity to find out more about this Contessa. He stands on the rooftop with a rifle resting against the building and a scope peering across the street into what looks like a renovated warehouse that may be an apartment building. The windows he's interested in look to be more than an apartment, with too many people for it to be a simple studio. Perhaps a cleverly-disguised place for a criminal organization to do business. Mixed in with the legitimate apartments. Hiding in plain sight.

He's primarily using the rifle as a means of seeing into the building acros the way. He doesn't seem intent of using it for anything else. He also has what appears to be a directional mic pointed at the building and an earpiece in his ear. A recon mission in the truest sense.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
It's not long before a couple of vans roll up to the warehouse/studio apartment complex. There is a small cadre of men who exit the vans followed by a girl. The girl is the most out of place element of the picture as she looks to be around college freshman age early twenties or late teens. Seh even looks like a college freshman dressed in age appropriate cheapish clothing with a small beanie atop her head. She's short - kinda cute with large cornflower blue eyes and doesn't appear in the least bit threatening. Bizzarely she seems to be in charge. She shares a joke or two with her men before looking straight up in Frank Castles direction. There's no way she could see him given where he has positioned himself if she were a normal girl but she seems to smile at him briefly before heading into the complex with her men. A second or two later Frank would hear a loud slurping sound next to him. It's the same small girl he saw a considerable distance away drinking coffee from a disposable paper cup. "What are you looking at? Something interesting?" the diminutive girl asks with an expression of pure innocence on her angelic little face.

Punisher has posed:
Hearing the sound of the van approaching the building, Frank pulls his eye away from the scope long enough to glance down onto the street. Seeing the group of men stepping out, he swivels the rifle and looks back down the scope to get a better look. Pretty typical group of men he might expect to see on this recon trip, but then the girl steps out. His first instinct is to assume that she's in trouble. Maybe a captive.

His brow furrows and he slides his index finger up to the rifle's safety to disengage when he sees the banter between her and the others. Not only the joking exchanges but she seems to be an authority figure. Lifting away from the scope again, he peers down onto the street as he considers what it is he is seeing. "The hell," he mutters to himself before looking through the scope once more. This time what he sees surprises him even more. The young lady is now looking right at him. Staring right back at her through the scope, his nostrils flare.

When she disappears into the building, Frank straightens and stares blankly down the street at nothing in particular when he hears the slurping sound. Twisting on his heels, he places his hand against his vest and tears away a pistol, pointing it at the girl in silence.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
The girl almost spills her coffee as the gun is pointed in her direction, "Woah!!" she says putting her hands up in the air. "I'm not armed - you can check me if you want. Sorry for sneaking up on you..." she says sheepishly. She's not carrying much apart from the coffee and a large artsy looking canvas bag. She does a slow 360 to show she is not carrying anything dangerous. Apart from the coffee that is. It might be really hot. "I've not been drawn down on too much... sorry... I'm not sure what the protocol is," the girl says in an awkward tone. "Am I supposed to lay down on the ground or kneel or..." After a couple of even more awkward seconds she says, "Oh yeah - I'm alone too."

Punisher has posed:
Still aiming the pistol at the girl, his eyes scan her over as she slowly spins for him. He's not necessarily concerned about her being armed as much as he is concerned about the fact that she seemed to know he was up here in the first place. That and the fact that she somehow managed to appear here only a few moments later.

When she finally turns back to face him, his intense stare moves beyond her across the roof to see if she is in fact alone. His pistol slowly lowers as he glances back at her, "Who the hell are you?" He presses his pistol back against his vest and it attaches, disarming himself.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
The girl manages a small curtsey. Not at all appropriate for her attire as she is wearing in a set of jeans, "Sono la Contessa Ekaterina Vespucci," she says switching to Italian with all of the appropriate idioms. She then goes back to her American accent and says, "Most people call me Kat however. Including everyone in myt band of merry chucklefucks down there. You can call me that if you want. You're Castle right? Frank Castle?" Big blue eyes look up at the vigilate expectantly.

Punisher has posed:
Frank's eyebrow arches slightly at her introduction. This his lips curve into a crooked smile as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, turning to glance off at the skyline across the river for a moment as his eyes shift back and forth while his brain works. "You're tellin' me you're The Contessa?" He turns back to look at the young girl in front of him. Her question about his name doesn't seem to register with him. He scoffs as he shifts his weight back to the other leg and continues to look the girl over. "A kid runnin' an organization like that?" He thumbs over his shoulder towards the building across the street.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"The Contessa - Lady Artifice and all those other corny things yes. You can see why I prefer Kat." As for what she runs Kat gives him the short version her blue eyes widening a bit as she gives a rundown what she owns and does. "Well yes I run that paramilitary therapy session ... and I own several commercial art galleries, a club, run a soup kitchen for the poor, teach art history at a community college as well as paint and sculpt myself. I'm a huge nerd too - got the best Star Wars collection. You're not going to swipe left on me are you?" Kat jokes nervously. "You /are/ Frank Castle right?"

Punisher has posed:
This pretty much confirms it. Nothing makes sense anymore. As the girl goes into the explanation of who he is, Frank turns and steps over towards the edge of the roof, resting his hands on either side of where his rifle had been balancing before. He drops his head and closes his eyes as he processes it. "And how does a girl your age get to own so much?"

As he asks, he lifts up and turns around to face her again, crossing his arms over his chest. "And yes, I am Frank Castle." While he is a little surprised that she knows who he is, he does understand that the name Frank Castle isn't exactly obscure. "And this," he turns and motions his head towards the building across the street then looks back, "therapy session. What exactly is going on over there?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I'm very good with money," Kat says by way of explanation though this may well be something of a dramatic understatement if what she is saying is true. "And my family had alot of money - they're gone now so I suppose I am the sole heiress." She says this with a degree of melancholy Frank might be able to relate to. "As for what I am up to - well you should come down with me and see if you like. It'd save you the time of scouting out the place for however long you would do that ordinarily. Then you would have some free time to do whatever it is you do. I've recently taken up bowling," Kat says. "I mean I'm up here with you unarmed and in good faith..."

Punisher has posed:
It's hard to argue. Gotta have money to make money and all that. If she inherited money then it's very possible she just invested in her interests. That still doesn't explain the shit across the street.

Her question is met with silence. His gaze remains on her for what seems like forever but he doesn't answer just yet. Most likely his mind is going over all the different possible traps he could be getting himself into if he were to accept. But it doesn't add up her being here only to lead him into a trap when he almost certainly would've gone in anyway without her having to invite him.

Finally he turns and grabs his rifle and slings it over his shoulder, "Let's go."