5322/A New Acquaintance

A New Acquaintance
Date of Scene:	07 September 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Kat fills Frank in on a human trafficking plot going down in the next few days and invites him to intervene.
Cast of Characters:	Ekaterina Vespucci, Punisher

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Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Ekaterina leads Frank down the fire escape stairs of the rooftop upon which he was camped (and she mysteriously appeared on from nowhere after being a considerable distance away only seconds before). Her large almost anime sized eyes scan the night with the sort of fresh faced innocence she had expressed over the last few minutes. There was astoundingly little fear in her when Frank drew down on her after she surprised him - horrible naivete or mild insanity operated in this tiny girl. Yes this is what apparently was passing for a crimelord in the 21st century. Many of the vigilantes out there were going to be considering other more rewarding forms of employment. "I'm afraid this little tour is going to bore you Frank," Kat says as they walk. "I've got a small security force down there and a bedroom, bar and gallery. Worse still I'm not into any of the stuff that it is rumored I am into. No human trafficking, no drugs, no prostitution. Lots of guns - an unfortunate necessity."

Punisher has posed:
Following the girl down the fire escape, Frank keeps his weapon drawn but carries it at his side. For now he doesn't treat Ekaterina as a hostile, but clearly the fact that there are armed men where they're heading keeps him on alert and ready in case things turn south.

"So you're telling me that you're an arms dealer?" He looks at the back of the girl with a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and humor as his lips curl into a crooked grin, his head shifting from side to side as he heavily trudges down the fire escape until they reach the ground and make their way towards the building where the girl had been only moments before. The way she carries herself suggests that she doesn't even need guards. Seems there's a lot to learn about what's going on here.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Not so much a dealer as a buyer - I sell security. Not conventional security. Others in my field break the rules to obtain better firepower and so then too must I. Only way to do that legally is to become some form of Government contractor and I haven't the patience or time for that. I teach at a community college, run a charity and several art galleries not just on the side but as a main concern. Mostly I'm just trying to avoid falling under the thumb of certain people who for a modest fee will insure that my galleries don't burn down. Or things started that way and then other people noticed I wasn't being extorted by the same people that they were and wanted to join my little cadre. So more and more people did the same. And here we are. It's unfortunate to think that this particular vector was where the cosa nostra types who were extorting me and my fellow cocerned businesspeople started out. How far they have fallen. It's a protection racket I run Frank if that is not already clear. And it is darned expensive and hard to make ends meet because I wont do any of the nastier stuff. You'll have to meet my two chiefs of security Gary and Chris. They're ex military. They'd certainly relate better to you than to me." She turns to Frank large eyes widening to effectively double in size to cartoonish extents as she says, "Ooo - but first we should grab some coffee and a bearclaw or two. I prefer the Italian doughnuts - they are soooo good - but the fellas like bearclaws. No accounting for taste. There's this place just aorund the corner a little off the way. Stop there first? I'll get you something - my treat?"

Punisher has posed:
Listening to Ekaterina's story, Frank's brow furrows and his lips purse together tightly. If anyone knows about bending the rules to avoid red tape out of necessity, it's him. Assuming that everything she is saying is true, he can't really fault her for her methods. Still. He can't just take her word for it.

When she turns around to face him with her huge eyes and mentions coffee and bearclaws, he stops in place and cocks his head to the side, "I don't really do coffee ma'am." His eyes shift towards the building where her operation is located, "Or bearclaws."

Turning back to face her, he motions his head towards the building, "I'm more interested in checking out your operation if you don't mind."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Kat sighs, "Your loss really. What do you eat? You seem to be in pretty good shape." They cross the street and reach the outside of Ekaterina's compound. "Oh and hey if I'm going to call you Frank you should at least retaliate by calling me Kat. Everybody does as you will see." She puts her hand on a hand scanner at the outside of a heavy steel security door and a scan commences after which a window opens. A couple of green grey eyes scan Ekaterina roll to the ceiling and back before looking at Frank. "What the?" says the male voice on the other end of the door. "Kat - ordinary girls bring puppys home not vigilante serial killers."

Punisher has posed:
As the cross the street towards the compound, Frank glances up and down the street, quietly checking for any marks along either side of the road just in case. "Meat. Potatoes. Pasta," he says, naming off random foods he can think of without going into specifics. "Have it your way, Kat."

When they approach the door, Frank watches her use the hand scanner and glances up when the window slides open and stares at the pair of eyes looking back at him. Vigilante serial killer, eh? His posture shifts as his feet assume a slightly wider stance, his head tilting to one side as he continues to make eye contact with the eyes inside. He wants to say something but manages to keep quiet. He at least needs to get inside first.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Gary let me in," Kat says with as much sterness as she can muster (that being not much at all).

"Just a second - I have to immediately go and tell everybody about this and then I'll be back." The eyes disappear and after some muffled conversation raucous laughter can be heard from the other side of the door.

"I am sooo glad I didn't get that chucklefuck a bearclaw," Kat says frowning with displeasure. Again there are no storm clouds gathering around her. Not a chance in hell she could ever be intimidating. Finally the door opens and 'Gary' lets them in. "Entre!" he says cheerily and Kat leads him into a large antechamber with a second security door.

"Ordinarily we'd ask you to disarm here," Kat explains, "But you are on potentially hostile ground and we do not know eachother yet really so keep em I guess."

Punisher has posed:
Frank's expression doesn't change much as Kat and 'Gary' interact with one another. His stance remains the same as well, but his eyes never leave the man's inside the building.

The eruption of laughter doesn't have much of an impact on him either. He figures if he had heard what was said prior to the laughter, he'd walk in and shove the grip of his pistol between Gary's eyes. Lucky for Gary, that's not the case.

As he follows Kat into the building, he holsters his sidearm as he peers around the room, making sure to maintain eye contact with each guard as he sees them. If things are going to go down, he wants to get his hands dirty. No bullets required here.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"This is the antechamber," Kat says, "not very interesting." She opens another heavy door by placing her hand on another scanner. It appears she is her own 'key'. The interior of the building she leads Frank into is fairly sterile. Kind of like walking into a Police building. There's a couple of offices - a shooting range and an armory. The latter might be of interest. She has quite the military grade arseal as Kat insinuated but only enough for her humble cadre of 30 men to run an operation. There are sniper rifles and a couple of rpgs complimenting a large number of pistols smgs and assault rifles. It is here that Kat and Frank run into Chris.

"Kat we are low on 9mm rounds," he says matter of factly.

Ekaterina narrating herself arches a brow and adopts a ceratin coy expression as she says, "Ekaterina feigns interest at what her subordinate says." After a second she commends herself, "Nailed it!" But goes on to say, "How is that possible? We aren't fighting anyone."

Punisher has posed:
Letting his temper relax a bit, Frank finally takes his eyes off of the men and glances around the room and follows the girl to the next scanner. Pretty high tech stuff considering the building they're in. You wouldn't expect to see this type of security from looking at the exterior. It's a good disguise.

Reaching the armory, Frank immediately notes the volume of firearms they have at their disposal. It's an impressive amount. This could last Frank quite a while, in fact. Maybe he'll reach out to Kat if he needs something he can't find.

Glancing over at the girl as she mocks her subordinate, his eyebrow arches a bit. He can't really put his finger on what it is with this girl. She's way too casual. It's like a game to her. He looks back to Chris, though, for his explanation of how they're low on 9mm rounds. Maybe someone is skimming them from the 'company.'

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
Chris merely points to the shooting range, "Men have got to keep up their skills over lengthy peace time," he explains.

Kat sighs again, "Alright buy some more. Really this is below my paygrade." For a moment they have both almost forgotten Frank is in the room. "Chris this is Frank - Frank Chris," Kat says. Chris merely waves to Frank casually and gets back to playing quartermaster. Kat leads Frank out of the room.

"This next bit is the best part - my studio," Kat says proudly. And indeed she has a majestic setup near the centre of the compound. A large presumable plexiglass ceiling lies above innumerable pieces of artwork all in varying stages of completion. Marble statues and almost photorealistic scenes and portraits lie on easels all around the place with the stench of paint. Over in a corner Kat also has a bedroom and office set up with multiple screens attached to the same rig. Stock prices flash on the screen constantly. And she has a huge flatscreen with a couple of gaming consoles on the wall. To finish off the picture there is a wall filled with Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia of inestimable worth. Apart from everything else Ekaterina apparently is a huge fangirl nerd. "What do you think pretty sweet hey?" She says smiling proudly.

Punisher has posed:
The armory is impressive, Frank admits. And Chris's explanation of the lack of 9 mm rounds sounds legitimate. If he had access to an armory like this with a firing range, he'd probably spend quite a bit of time here and go through an unreasonable amount of ammunition. Offering Chris a short nod, he turns and follows Kat out.

Upon entering the studio, Frank's eyes scan the room, taking in the sight of the sheer number of pieces of artwork. He steps over to one of the unfinished landscapes and leans down, narrowing his eyes slightly as he examines the amount of detail. His lips tug down into a slight frown as his eyebrows arch and he nods a few times, "Impressive."

Straightening again, he looks over to see the 'nerd' wall and then looks at Kat again, shrugging, "You have a lot of shit." His eyes stop on the rig with the multiple screens and watches it for a moment, "Looks like you're all set up."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Thus ends the tour," Kat says to Frank. "Now to business. I didn't bring you down here just to avert any possible coming to blows between us," Kat takes off her beanie and puts on one of those Pixar minion hats. Without so much as asking permission she looks at Frank's profile and then front on before beginning to sketch him with charcoal on an easel. What is strange about the procedure is that Kat does not appear to be looking at Frank as she draws. She is turned away from him and working purely from memory. "I have a not so small problem that I need taken care of. And it would be awfully good optics for you. Not killing anyone though that might happen incidentally. A mercy mission in fact. A rescue one."

Punisher has posed:
When Kat turns and picks up a stick of charcoal and begins to sketch, Frank's expression of mild confusion returns. The way she goes from one thing to another and then immediately to something else entirely is almost too much. Frank is much slower. Focusing on one thing at a time. In his line of business he can't afford distractions.

Stepping around the easel, he glances at what she's drawing and furrows his brow when he begins to see that it's him. "Nice," he says simply before turning to look at the other pieces of artwork in the room. He doesn't need to see her sketch of him. He sees enough of himself in the mirror each morning.

When she mentions needing him to handle a problem of hers, he exhales sharply, a quiet scoff. When she mentions it being a rescue mission, he turns and glances over his shoulder, "Who exactly needs to be rescued?" His body turns towards her completely, "And from what?"

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"A large number of children from slavery. I abhor human trafficking and learned of a transaction taking place in what tentatively I might describe as my territory. I needed more intelligence about this so I demanded a cut and now apparently I am supposed to play a role in the transaction. I'd come in force and stop it myself but then my bona fides as a crimelord suffer. I have a bad reputation however fictional that I have cultivated. You on the other hand aree full time in the business of disrupting these things. So what I have in mind is the Heroic Frank Castle defeats the 'evil' Contessa at her own game and rescues the children. I don't think my reputation would suffer too much from losing to you - but the optics would be great for you. Not that you necessarily care about that stuff. But you should." The expression on Kat's angelic little open face twists in disgust as she discusses human trafficking. It is clear however subtle her machinations the little girl has no poker face. Perhaps that is part of why everyone in her organisation seems to see her more as a little sister than a big bad boss.

Punisher has posed:
The mention of human trafficking immediately gets Frank's attention and he's no longer interested in the art or the sketch or anything else in the room. He steps back over to the easel where she was drawing a moment ago and looks at her intently. There's always the possibility that she is legitimately involved and this is a part of the plan. Maybe for him to go in guns blazing and clear the path for her to sweep up and get a payday. But there's no reason for that to be the case necessarily. Can't hurt to be skeptical for now.

"I'm not concerned about public opinion," he says matter-of-factly. Maybe it would be better for him if he gave a damn about his image, but he isn't in this business for the image. He's here to get things done that the 'justice' system isn't willing. "Just tell me where and when and I'll be there."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Patience la mia musa oscura. I have yet to hear the time I only know the place. Down by the harbor. I'll be given the time in the next couple of days. I believe the children are being shipped out rather than in. A nasty business. Some of them are the progeny of a deceased CI. Apparently it was not good enough for the Cosa Nostra to murder the parents they had to go further and enmesh the orphans in misery." She turns to look at Frank face a mask of concern. "I'm going to have to be there so please watch where you place your bullets. However I am not the chief concern. Get the kids out of there. You may want to scout the place out. And I am going to need a way to get in touch with you."

Punisher has posed:
Frank nods and lowers his head for a moment as he considers the location. He'll probably stop by the harbor on his way out of here tonight. He has a stakeout planned himself, but has a little time before it gets too late so he'll do some initial recon and scope out the area.

Looking back over at Kat, he simply nods. He already knows what he has to do. Kids being shipped out isn't gonna happen on his watch, that's for damn sure. "Only thing I need from you and your team is something to identify yourselves. So I don't shoot you." He begins to slowly pace, his head still lowered as his mind starts working through the process. "Some subtle arm bands, a specific hat, something." He stops and glances up at her, "I'll take care of the rest."

When she mentions needing to get in touch with him, he pulls out a small notepad and a wooden pencil and writes a number down then hands it towards her, "My burner number. I'll have it on me."

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"I could wear my pixar minion hat but I think my men would shoot me if I took that to the meet. Hmm how about this pink Beret. Not a raspberry one like in the Artist formaerly known as Prince's song..." She shows Frank the beret. "I'm not going to bring my team - I have some outsiders I hired for this one. Expendables as it were. Folk who'll likely scatter as soon as the fireworks begins - halves your workload and makes me look less complicit. I'll just try and keep my beret clad head down." She accepts the number. There are alot of variables here that could go wrong. "Here is the address of the drop. If you check it out walk light. It will be right down on the pier where the action is happening."

Punisher has posed:
Frank nods quietly as he takes the address from the girl, immediately looking it over and committing it to memory. He'll at least give it a quick once-over tonight just to get a general lay of the land. Looking back up at her he nods again, "Smart move with the hired help. Makes me feel less bad about taking one or two out."

He folds up the paper with the address on it and stuffs it into his pocket just in case he needs it, "If they know why they're there, I'll make it a point to take as many out as I can before they run off." If they know kids are being shipped out, they deserve what's coming to them.

Ekaterina Vespucci has posed:
"Fine by me - I am actually a pretty compassionate person but my limits are easily found when it comes to those who traffic kids. If I wanted them arrested I would have asked Wonderwoman to do it. You know I actually ran into her yesterday at a coffee shop just off've Times Square?" Its a weird direction to take the conversation in. "I suppose we better both get to work," she admits with a sigh. "Oh here's my number by the way. Don't be a stranger Frank," she smiles sweetly up at him.